Don
will begin the final stage of his treatment on Monday, December 27th.
He will check into the 7N (north side of the 7th floor of the Cancer
Center) at 8:00 AM that Friday. He will be in the hospital for between 2 ½ to 3
weeks. He should return home almost
cancer-free and in remission. Below are some the questions people have asked us,
and ones we have asked the doctors. We have answered them the best we can.
Q. What happens in the
hospital?
A. For the first two
days high doses of the chemotherapy drug, Melphalan,
will be given to Don through his catheter. On day 3 he rests, and will probably
get to come home for a few hours. On day 4 he will have his own stem cells
reinfused back into his blood. The rest of the 2 ½ to 3 weeks will be spent
treating side effects, doing what ever is necessary to restore his blood to
health, keeping infection at bay, and recuperating.
Q. What happens if his
body rejects the transplant?
A. That has never
happened. That only happens when a donor’s cells are used.
Q. Will the chemo make
Don sick?
A. Everyone is different.
Common side effects include nausea, mouth sores, tiredness, abnormal bleeding.
He’ll probably have some of these side effects, although some people react
nominally.
Q. Will he loose his
hair?
A. Yes, at least some of
it.
Q. Will he have blood
transfusions?
A. This is very common
because the Melphalan kills off not only the cancer cells, but many of the
other bone marrow cells. It is common to get transfusions of red blood cells
and platelets.
Q. Isn’t there a risk
of infection?
A. Don will get a host of
meds to prevent infection. It seems there are meds to lessen all the side
effects.
Q. Can I visit Don?
A. Don can have
visitors if he feels up to it. Visitor must wash their hands well before
entering his room. Any one who is not feeling well or who has a cold, a fever
or an infection of any kind should not come. We’ll let people know if Don wants
visitors. Please call first. We’ll
publish phone numbers in this blog and by email.
Q. How will they know
it is safe for Don to come home?
A. They will test Don’s
blood to see when it has recovered enough to fight infection outside of the
hospital on its own.
Q. When will we have
the old Don back again?
A. It takes several
months for a person to get back all of their strength and vigor. Everyone is
different.
Q. What can I do to
help?
A. We don’t know now.
Knowing you care is a great big help. We’ll be more specific as the situations
arise.
P.S. Fresh flowers and
fake arrangements with moss are not allowed.
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