Friends,
Nancy cytogenetic typing results came in today, and they are not what we were hoping for. She does not have the 'inversion 16' type, she has what are called 'complex cytogenetics'. The FAB classification for her leukemia would be M0 or M1.
In short, she will need a bone marrow transplant sometime in the future, and we're on a more challenging road to recovery.
For the next couple of weeks, things will depend on her biopsy scheduled for tomorrow. She may be free of leukemia cells, in which case she'll get another week of treatment to rebuild her immune system, and will be getting outpatient treatment while we look for a bone marrow donor. She may still have leukemia cells, which would require more chemotherapy. Either way, we're going to be dealing with this for months or years.
Nancy says "Nothing in my life has ever been easy. I felt really bad for my doctor today, he's usually pretty up and cheerful, and I could tell the minute he walked in, I was not going to get good news."
We’re both upset, of course. And disappointed. And determined.
One way you can help is to get typed and registered as a bone marrow donor. The only thing that can ultimately save Nancy’s life is a bone marrow donation. The process is pretty simple -- it just takes a blood sample -- and in the unlikely event you ever get selected as a donor, donation is not a big procedure. I’ve been a marrow donor for 20 years, and never been called. The odds of matching are only 1 in 20,000-to-50,000.
Spread the word. All the info is at http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html?src=tabjoin. Do it now. I’ll have more information tomorrow.
Warm regards,
-tdc
No comments:
Post a Comment