Hi @rayj, Welcome to Connect. You are in fine company here in the forum. There are quite a few of us who have had Stem Cell Transplants for various reasons. Both Allogenic transplants, using donor cells or autologous transplants, using their own cells.
If you’re at the point in your treatment where it’s suggested that a stem cell transplant is the best option for you, then realistically, it’s much less scary to go ahead with the transplant that to do nothing! ☺️
One thing I might suggest is to stop looking online for information about the transplant. The internet can be very helpful, but looking at some of the articles out there would scare me to death too and I had a transplant 5 years ago! Most of what I read intitially and worried about happening didn’t even apply to me. It’s not a walk on the beach but it isn’t much worse than what you’ve gone through with your three rounds of chemo.

There is a slower recovery time from the transplants and the early fatigue can be frustrating. But most of the members in the forum will tell you that we all got through it a day at a time and now most of us are very healthy and living a full and active life. There are no guarantees of course, but to do nothing is to do nothing! Just repeated rounds of chemo and for some cancers, that looses efficacy later on. That is where a SCT/or BMT comes into the picture. For many of us it is our second chance at life. I had an BMT for Acute Myeloid Leukemia 5 years ago at the age of 65. I am cancer free and feel like I’m in my 20s with energy and stamina and no side effects.

Here are some of the positive stories of other transplant patient. We’re here to offer you hope that there is life after transplant. A good life!

My BMT/SCT story. Will you share yours?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-bone-marrow-transplant-bmt-story-will-you-share-yours/
Snapshots of hope: Life on the other side of transplant https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/snapshots-of-hope-life-on-the-other-side-of-transplant/

May I ask what type of cancer you’re being treated for? Would you be having a stem cell transplant using your own cells or that of a donor? What have you read that has you most scared?