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Prepping for CAR T Therapy: What is the process like?

Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) & CAR-T Cell Therapy | Last Active: Sep 30, 2021 | Replies (7)
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@blewellyn

Hi Bob!
Thank you for telling me about your experience. Right now we are prepping with venetoclax and ibrutinib, she started that last week. She will have weekly admissions to ramp up the dose of the venetoclax until maximum dose is achieved.

Dr. Wang said he hopes her T Cells are ready to be harvested around December. Luckily I am able to take FMLA and be with her through the whole process, including post CAR T infusion. I'm a nurse, but my specialty is Respiratory, so some of this is a new ball game for me.

I really appreciate hearing about your experience, Bob! Do you mind if I ask how long you have been in remission?

Thanks,
Bridgette

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Replies to "Hi Bob! Thank you for telling me about your experience. Right now we are prepping with..."
Bob, Alumni Mentor | @grandpabob | Sep 30, 2021

@blewellyn - Hello Bridgette, So glad to hear that everything is moving forward in a positive way for your mom. I see that you are going to have a strong support team ready to do what needs to be done. Your Mom will be so thankful she has all of you standing with her, so important. So I received my treatment on August 1 of 2018, I was 62 at the time.

So answer to your question, I had my 3 year anniversary this past August.

As an aside, at the 30 day post treatment point, the MRI of my brain showed no signs of cancer, (Which was displayed prior to treatment) the PET scan of my abdomen displayed small areas of Cancer. (As compared to large masses) It was explained to us that small signs remaining after 30 days was not an indication of the final results. When I returned for the 90 day post treatment scans, there was no indication of any active cancer. What a relief! Since then, I have had regular quarterly scans for 21 months, I decided at that time I had enough of scans so requested they be discontinued, the Oncologist agreed. At my last visit, we agreed that my Oncology visits could be stretched out to 6 months.

So in summary, it has been a very difficult road to get to where I am today, however, the support that I have had has been tremendous.

Do keep in touch and never be afraid to ask questions on this forum.

Is your mom able to stay active? What is she doing to stay physically strong?

Take care.
Bob

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