My mother was diagnosed with MM this past
October. She has gone thru VAD treatments, with
Aredia and Prokrit. She was faced with a
decision last week. Whether to go forward with
stem cell transplant and high dosage chemo or to
continue with her current treatment. She is 69
years old and was quite debilitated since
september. Unable to walk due to bone lesions in
vertebrae and pelvis. High calcium, anemia and
severe pain. Once she began chemo, she slowly
improved but has never really felt well since
this all began.
The doctor has explained all her options and she
has decided to forgo the high dosage chemo and
stem cell transplant. She is aware that the hig
dose chemo can keep her in the hospital for
months and possibly kill her! She is
psychologically not up to the task and feels she
needs some breathing room for now.
I asked the doctor whether a stem cell harvest
can be done now for possible use later. He said
No, that the stem cells degrade quite quickly. Is
this true? Has anyone else experienced a similar
situation?
Andy Szymczak
aszymczak@dbnj.com
