Nervous but ready to roll.

[buttrflymeme]

If an of you heav followed my prior history, I trend to get good response at the half way scan but end of treatment scan shows HYPER metabolic change or gowth. Was set for auto transplant following R-DHAP but insisted we do another scan after 3rd round to assure we still had good enough response to move forward....tumor had grown. Had I not insisted and advocated for myself wed have moved forward with that transplant FOR NOTHING!

ALWAYS FIND YOUR VOICE AND SPEAK YOUR CONCERNS.

Now. The plan had changed to an all transplant as we fear I am chemo resistant. Doing O-ICE and out had been so much easier on me than the R-DHAP. Scan after 2 shows complete response so best as yet...i am having anxiety however that we may have a repeat of prior cycles and "go south" before transplant....donors are being tested awaiting team Choice. Told approx 5-6 weeks til transplant.

Anyone have a all transplant? I am REALLY nervous due to all the risks and the mu h longer stay in hospital and area. Treatment hospital is nearly 100 miles from home

[1Anj1]

My brother was diagnosed with NHL. By the time the gp and hospital appointment happened he was already at stage 4.

He was then hit by several cycles of Rchop. Pet scan showed remission and we thought that's was that. 6-9 months later he started to have the same symptoms and it showed the cancer was back.

So we then had several cycles of Rdhap , this is much more toxic than the Rchop and took a lot more out of him. Again pet scan was good and the doctors performed a autologous stem cell transplant.

His own stem cells beat the disease and everything was ok. 6-8 weeks in hospital and 6-9 months recovery at home. He was back to normal.

The physical journey was hard but the mental journey was much harder. The time in isolation, your own thoughts, your dreams and fears are played over and over. I can't stress to you how important it is to conquer your mind before you go for this procedure.

He has been clear for 18 months and it returned again.

It is my belief that if you are not a 100% clear before the transplant then at some point it will rear its ugly head again. Sanctuary sites are hard to kill with Chemo.

So now we have just finished several cycles of salvage chemo and did a stem cell transplant using my stem cells. The toxicity is much worse than the autologous transplant. The risks are much worse.

It's been 10 days since my stem cells were given and we are just waiting and watching.

Prepare yourself mentally, try to seek council from psychologists or priest/rabbi/imam, whatever you believe.

Take everything 1 day at a time.

Some days are good and some not so good. But that's normal

Good luck

[Gailbarnes in reply to 1Anj1]

Prayers for both of you, sounds like you've had a hard road. I agree, your mind runs away with you. Any thing we can think bad comes every min. I think faith is more important than anything. GOD bless you, my friend

[1Anj1 in reply to Gailbarnes]

God bless you too, and thank you for your kind words.

[oncloudnine in reply to 1Anj1]

Do not give up. You both are incredibly brave facing this together. I am at six months remission from mediastinal LBCL. R-Chop & radiation. I am hoping and praying it does not start again. It is a very tiring and long battle. Hang in there.

[Cjjn3]

Hi, wondering if you can explain what an all transplant is and/ or what it entails? Just wondering aa I'm scheduled for a bone marrow transplant in September. Thanks

[wmay13241 in reply to Cjjn3]

There is a wealth of transplant information on the Patients Against Lymphoma at lymphomation.org/allobmt.htm

[Tinkerbellcgy in reply to Cjjn3]

Cjjn3, an allogenic (allo) is a transplant where you receive stem cells or bone marrow from a donor. An autologous (auto) is a transplant where you use your own stem cells.

Auto stem cell transplants (SCT) are a much easier procedure as you are receiving your own cells back into your body. I had an autologous stem cell transplant on July 23, 2012.

Allo transplants are more intricate and usually carry more risks such as graft vs. host disease (GVHD) due to receiving either stem cells or bone marrow that is foreign to your body.

There is a Facebook group entitled "Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Support Group" which I would strongly urge you to join. There is a plethora of information from both transplant patients and their caregivers on their experiences. You will learn so much.

[1Anj1]

Biomedical science is on the cusp of major revolutionary changes with regards to blood related cancers. Whoever is affected, it's time to dig deep and hang in there.

[oncloudnine in reply to 1Anj1]

Beautiful words of encouragement to all of us battling NHL. Thank you