I received an autologous (in the blood cancer world, auto for short) transplant. This is when the patients own stem cells are used. The stem cells are collected after taken a medication called neupogen (well that was at least my medication) that you can administer to yourself. This will increase your white blood cell count and I will not sugar coat anything, that process wasn't fun at all. With the WBC increasing there will be some pain and it is very hard to walk but it is temporary. You can stop taking the medication once enough cells are collected. That can vary from person to person. Thankfully I collected all I needed and more in one take. However, some people are not as lucky...it may take them a few days, a week, and I believe my sct doctor told me that someone even took one month to collect all they needed. After they are collected the cells are frozen. After one intensive round of high dose chemo...this is when you will lose your hair, the cells are thawed and you receive them through an infusion. You heard right...you do not have to be cut open. People always assume that when they hear the word transplant. During the infusion you may feel a tickle in your throat that will make you cough. There is a higher risk of disease relapse.
An allogenic (allo) involves receiving stem cells from a donor. If a person has siblings they are the ideal candidate to be a match but the donor can also be unrelated. Allogenic transplants can be a long term cure for a patient's disease but there is no guarantee. They have to screen the person for compatibility. I know of a lady that had two allo's because she relapsed a few months after her first one which her twin was her donor. Then she seemed to have done better with another sibling who a donor the second time. People that receive allo will also receive high dose chemo before their transplant.
Transplants are used so doctors can give larger doses of chemo and/or radiation to increase the chance of eliminating the disease in the marrow and restoring normal blood cell production. Receiving a transplant is based on a number of things such as a patient's age, general health, medical condition, the likelihood that the disease will respond, the availability of a donor or the use of the patient's own cells.
This is a lengthy topic and I will do a part 2 to talk about which blood cancers will most likely respond to a transplant.
Remember to have this conversation with your doctor do decide the best choice for you. This is not an easy journey but the more negative you are the quicker you will deteriorate. The devil wants to keep you down, don't allow him to win. You keep fighting with courage, strength, and the best FAITH!
