Faced with decision to have Bone Marrow Transplant or not

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?

Thank you soóo much. You are saving me a lot of sleep. I worry that it will be asking a lot of my family, who are more than willing to step up. I am 75, but Dr says I am more like 60. I have been relatively unaffected by the rounds of shots and pills. ( Darzalex pro, Velcade, Lenalidide, and Dex. I am so glad you are there. Thank you,thank you. You are correct about online searching. So much better with you
Ray

Thank you.

Good morning, Ray. Looking at meds you’ve listed, I’m thinking that you have Multiple Myeloma? If that’s the case then the type of transplant you’ll most likely be discussing with your doctor tomorrow is an Autologous, or Auto-transplant. This means you’d be using your own stem cells. This type of transplant has an easier recovery time and no potential complications from a reaction of donor cells, (gvhd) because you’ll be using your own.

So, let me know what you find out tomorrow. We have quite a few members who have had auto transplants and I’ll be happy to connect you with them and their stories! You’ll feel a lot better about this entire upcoming adventure! ☺️

In the meantime, you’ll learn more during your visit with the transplant doctor tomorrow. There’s a lot of information at those first meetings so it can be helpful if someone can go with you for a 2nd set of ears. Afterwards, I’ll be here for you, as well as the other members in our SCT group, to clarify information and help you through this. ☺️

It sounds like you have a great support group with your family. Team Ray! 😉 Don’t hesitate to tap into their help! How many years have you been helping them??? Now it’s payback time!

You and the team are amazing. Yup it is MM. I have done 25 stints in the cancer center at UNC Chapel Hill. They targeted a 9mm lesion on my upper hip. Then on to the chemo . 3 rounds as of today. My numbers have dropped dramatically. Over 90 percent reduction in some cases. Red cells are .2 below low normal. My K/L ratio has reduced from 43.5 to 4. I'm 75 and not ready to turn out the lights. Thank y'all for being there.