Today I started the stem cell harvest process, and I just got word of today’s count: 7 million. We’ll go one more day (tomorrow) so there are enough for 3. Since I expect to live a long time, I want to have those extras on ice for the future. We’re getting them all now so that I won’t have to worry about what future treatments might do to my ability to harvest more later. It’s a big relief to have this done.
We (doc & I) disagree on letting me have a break in treatment for a few months though. He wants me to have my transplant on the 30th, and I want to wait. I called Dr. Durie to talk about this a little, and I know how to present my case to my doctor here now.
Beth, I’d be interested to know the “thinking” behind Dr Durie’s advice to wait, if you want. It’s my understanding that all the meds etc that you’ve had so far were in prep for the harvest as well as the transplant. My docs felt that it was important to do everything in a timely fashion.
Carol