Transplant consultation today

Hi all, it's Ali typing this entry.....
Kancho and I traveled to Chapel Hill today for our consultation appointment with Dr. Serody at the Bone Marrow Clinic. Given that the session included 3 1/2 hrs of information and I am exhausted, I will share the "short" version :-) Dr. Serody would like to see Kancho proceed with completing cycle 3 part B of the Hyper CVAD regimen here locally followed by another PET scan. The reason behind this is that they want to make sure the remaining pelvic tumor has reduced in size as much as it can before moving onto stem cell transplant. Stem cell transplant can only be administered one time and as long as the tumor is not gaining in size, there is no rush to do it sooner. The doctor described the transplant tx as a "seal the deal" kind of option, however there are little clinical outcomes to define cure rate for Kancho's rare type of lymphoma. Ball park is about 30% success rate from stem cell transplant for similar non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. The doctor estimates that we will enter phase 1 of the transplant process (collection of Kancho's stem cells) in September and then phase 2 (actual transplant) in October where we will be hospitalized in Chapel Hill for at least a month. This overall timeline for transplant could vary depending on Kancho's recovery time after cycle 3 concludes, and the response his tumor shows over the next 3 months. We met several UNC hospital staff who will be involved with us from now forward, and all of them were very supportive. Kancho is scheduled for outpatient chemo tomorrow which will conclude his cycle 3 part A tx. We will observe his blood counts for the next few weeks and update you as we approach another hospitalization at NEMC for part B. Thanks again for all your concern and prayers. This will be a long process and the sustained support we have received from family and friends has been amazing. Keep it up!

Luv,
Ali