I may have posted some of this before, but there’s new information at the end, and it’s worth the telling.
At one point this past summer I logged into the discussion board at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There are a lot of different types of leukemias, and CMML is one of the more rare ones. I came upon a thread entitled Looking for others with CMML.
(One writer writes, “There are so few people in the world with this disease, it is very scary”. Which is true.)
Most of the way down the second page of the discussion was a writer named “g-papaul”, who identified himself this way, with a post dated June 19, 2011:
I’m a 60 year old sales professional male getting annual physicals with blood tests. I was Diagnosed with CMML in Feb. 2011. My GP knew it required an oncologist and got the ball rolling. I’m from the Harrisburg, PA area and went to the best local oncologist I could find. The oncologist is affiliated with Johns-Hopkins, Baltimore, MD. My initial consultation with a transplant team at J-H was the end of March. March-April May were transfusions of blood and platelets as needed determined by my weekly blood draws at the oncologist. I also received 2 courses of Vidaza in preparation for the transplant. I was admitted to Johns-Hopkins on 6/13. On 6/15 started a 5 day run of Busulfan. Today 6/19 starts a 2 day run of Cytoxin. On 6/21 is the Bone Marrow Transplant from my donor brother. Then, 2 more days of Cytoxin. I start down the road to recovery and hopefully cured.
So he’s already into the “conditioning” phase – “intensive” chemotherapy, with the purpose of destroying the existing bone marrow, and two days away from a bone marrow transplant. Beth is due to follow a path like this one. He made several more postings. On July 8 we saw this:
I’m currently on DAY 17 after BMT. The BMT was uneventful and sort of just like getting another few units of blood. I rested for 2 days and then received 2 more days of Cytoxin. During the last day of Cytoxin you start to walk through the fires of hell. They start initiating bags of antibiotics, anti fungal anti microbials. I keep getting low grade fevers. They tell me it’s normal. Not all experience the same side effects. These drugs hit everyone differently. … I constantly feel like I have the flu. Just have to deal with it until around July 12. That’s the day projected to be the day my own marrow will be producing healthy cells.!
Later, he said:
The chemo side effects are all they say they are. … You feel like you got run over by a bus! Have to stay positive since they only last about 2 weeks. Then the miracle begins…Day 18 after transplant. Blood counts start appearing 50 here, 110 there and keep growing. Not by leaps & bounds but by 20-30 points. Several transfusions of red cells and platelets. A little rash here & there (a little GVHD is a good thing)…
I may have posted this much of his story already. Since that last posting, there was not another comment from him until yesterday. And here’s the key … here’s the thing we’re looking forward to:
I felt it was time to offer a follow up to my BMT to cure my CMML. I was released from Johns-Hopkins on August 19th to go home. Home…a wonderful place to recuperate. No more IV drugs that tear you up. Only a few in pill form to prevent various infections. We had a whole house HEPA filter system and a reverse osmosis water system on our well water installed. I DO NOT leave the house or go in the basement without an N95 mask. If I’m going to the store or doctor I wear disposable gloves too. Wash hands frequently. I finally started eating the last week of August after 6 weeks of eating nothing. I lost 80 LB and feel great…. The diet has been expanding but not my waist line. I’ve learned to eat all over again. I will not return to 290 LB!!! There are positives out of this ordeal. My Osteo arthritis is gone. (They said it could be temporary or long term). I don’t need Blood Pressure or Cholesterol meds anymore. I don’t need to sleep with a C-PAP machine. All of the anti bacterials & fungals fed me IV cured my athlete’s foot and one nail infected with a fungal infection…they rebuilt me! I currently visit my local Oncologist every 2 weeks for chec ups. He says the recovery is text book.
There’s not a lot of good medical news about CMML. But here’s anecdotal evidence that the process works, and works well. There are a couple of differences with our situation. Most notably, this individual has a related donor. But it’s a very hopeful story.
I fully agree completely.