BMT at Mayo Rochester 6/23

Hi @kaeri76 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect There are several of us in Connect who have had our bone marrow transplants or stem cell transplants at Mayo Rochester.
If you were diagnosed with Multiple myeloma, I’m wondering if you’re receiving an ASCT. Which is a stem cell transplant using your own cells. A bone marrow transplant using donor cells, while sharing some similarities, has several differences which set them apart. I don’t want to provide the wrong info which gets confusing for you. I want to make sure you get the appropriate info! ☺️
So, are you able to use your own stem cells?

Yes, I am receiving my own cells, an allogeneic STC.

Thank you!

Hi, @kaerae76. If you’re having a stem cell transplant using your own cells that’s referred to as an autologous stem cell transplant or ASCT. With your own cells, recovery time and your stay near the clinic will be much shorter than with an allogeneic transplant using donor cells.
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I don’t know where you are in the process schedule. Usually the week before transplant, at Mayo you’ll attend some educational classes along with pre-testing.

If you’ve had your stem cells harvested then you’re set to start the actual preconditioning for the transplant.
If you have not had your harvesting then that will be the first step.
I think the best thing is to provide you with the informational guide from Mayo Clinic. The first section covers the ASCT and what you can expect the week prior to the transplant, including the preconditioning protocol and recovery information. There are a number of subject headings and help sections so take your time to look through each.
Here’s the link: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/caregivers-for-bmt-car-t-and-hematology/tab/transplant-journey/

There have been other members having an ASCT who have shared their experiences in Connect. One such discussion started a few years ago is this one from @jstpeachy. She had her transplant at Mayo Phoenix. But the protocol is similar. Here is the link to that discussion:

My autologous stem cell transplant journey at Mayo Phoenix.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-autologous-stem-cell-transplant-journey-mayo-phoenix/
I know you’re starting tomorrow but if you could let me know what steps have been taken already I can narrow down the information for you! Plus, you can always contact me to during the process too! ☺️
Have you had your stem cell collection?
Do you have your online patient portal set up?
What does your appointment schedule have lined up for you?

@loribmt
Thanks for all of this great information!

Hi @kaerae76 It’s my pleasure to help. I had an allogenic transplant at Mayo Rochester coming up on 7 years in a couple of days. As the mentor for the bone marrow/stem cell transplant group, I have a great deal of info I can help you with.
There are several steps to the ASCT journey. If you let me know where you are in the program, I can give more targeted info.
In the meantime, wishing you all the best as you begin your journey today. Have you had your cell harvest?

Today I receive the conditioning chemo. Tomorrow rest day and Thurs and Friday stem cells back. I have 28 bags of cells so they will split b/t two days. It took me 8 days to collect 5 mil cells. I was on the struggle bus, lol

Hey @kaerae76! Thank you for give me a little more info on where you are in your transplant journey. This helped me get a clearer picture.

So you’ve already had your stem cell collection. That’s a huge step out of the way. Sounds like those little buggers were hard fought to get the desired amount. But you persevered and on your way! ☺️

Your conditioning chemo starts today. For MM patients that often is a one-time infusion to help clear your body of any further cancer cells and to help clean out your bone marrow so it’s ready for your newly infused cells in a couple of days.

The cells will drip in just like a blood transfusion over the next two days. As the stem cells enter your blood stream, they tumble along the walls of the veins until they find these unique little pores where the stem cells enter your bone marrow. Once inside, the stem cells will eventually set up housekeeping again. Usually anywhere from 12 to 17 days or so. Some people have engraftment sooner, some take a little longer. But as soon as the stem cells do engraft they will begin to produce more cells which mature into red, white cells and platelets. Your recovery will then move along a little faster and you start feeling a little more perky.

During first week or so after the chemo you may feel some increased fatigue and want to nap all the time. You may experience some nausea as well. But knowing the transplant teams at Mayo, you’ll be provided whatever you need to help keep you comfortable. Make sure you inform your team of any concerns you have. They’re all very attuned to patient’s needs but they aren’t mind readers. So it’s up to us to let them know and it’s never a nuisance to them! ☺️

As an out patient you won’t be spending much time in Methodist hospital on 9-4. Personally, I really appreciated being able to recover in my long-term lodging instead of long term stay as In-patient. But I also learned that I’d be quickly re-admitted to the hospital if needed.

Sending you good wishes for a smooth journey with your stem cells. Keep me posted along the way, ok?

I will, thank you.