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Husband is 9 months post allo BMT and still struggling
Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) & CAR-T Cell Therapy | Last Active: 6 days ago | Replies (8)Comment receiving replies
Last I saw it was in the 90’s. For whatever reason I can see all his test results but not that. Doc says it’s the “ interface.” So we know it took. They think weaning him off the anti rejection medication will allow the transplant to take over faster. He did not have any graphvhost symptoms which I thought was odd but maybe was a sign the new cells needed a jolt. So fingers, toes and eyes crossed things start clicking. His other numbers are ok, he started to improve with his WBC and hemoglobin numbers but now they are in flux with the chemo. We will finish the first cycle this week then a bone marrow biopsy in 2 weeks when I hope we see no blasts and better numbers. Thanks for the encouragement.
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Hi. @rsbyko I was just going to ask that question… wondering if your husband was still on his anti-rejection meds and if he’s had any signs of gvhd. We do need to have a graft vs host (or graft vs leukemia) effect with the new immune system. Often allowing the new cells to be a little more aggressive may be all it needs to boost the new immune system into the last nudge to get that chimerism up to 100%. Also the transplant doctor may elect to do a DLI. (Donor lymphocyte infusion), which is another infusion of cells from the donor. You can read more about that here: From Cleveland Clinic regarding DLI
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/10343-donor-leukocyte-infusion
Actually, fellow member @dwolden posted a discussion for her husband with that experience of DLI. This was several months ago and it made an enormous difference in his recover.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dli-after-allo-transplant-maintenance-chemo-after-transplant/
I’m sure this feels like a setback and a bit disappointing for your husband to have another round of chemo. But it’s just a little bump in the road. It’s not unusual for patients with AML who have undergone a BMT to have maintenance chemo for a little while post transplant. AML can be a problem child depending on the mutations driving the disease. Some of those mutations allow for the cancer cells to hide out in the body, basically going dormant during chemo. Later, when they ‘feel’ the environment is safe, they can reemerge. That’s when maintenance chemo can continue to do a sweep until those rogue cells are gone!
So please, try not to be discouraged. Your husband is still in a very early period of recovery. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns. I went through my own issues. I remember telling my husband three things people need to have with BMT… A sense of humor, a sense of adventure and the ablity to just roll with the punches. Because for the first year or so, not much is predictable. It was always said in jest, but honestly, every morning we’d get up and my husband would say, “Well, let’s see what fresh hell awaits today.” LOL. Remember the TV show, Fraisier? Dr Crane used to say that.
Anyway, one day at a time and life eventually evens out. In the meantime, doctors and medical teams become your family members, life doesn’t have a definitive ‘new normal’ quite yet, and most of your trips are back and forth to a doctor’s office. But, there is life on the other side of transplants that can make these early efforts and sacrifices worth pushing forward!
I hope you’ll keep me informed with his progress! My heart goes out to him because I know none of this is easy.
When was he diagnosied with AML? Do you know what mutations he had with his diagnosis?