the Price of Oncology

Salvage chemo begins with a horrendously difficult 6 day straight 12 hour days chemotherapy regimen of some of the strongest drugs available. During this time food and drink is limited and though most facilities allow you to stay on-site in patient housing,you may need to have an inpatient stay. The bone marrow transplant is actually a very short, half hour procedure. You will be watched for reaction and then checked every day to make sure your blood counts come up. If they do not you may need to get blood transplants which is very common. There are two types, autologenous seems to be the best. It uses your own stem cells (which are removed through a blood donation center-VERY easy and painless) and there is no risk for host/versus grant disease. After the transplant,you will need to stay onsite for approximately 3 weeks due to possible complications and a weakened immune system. Anti-nasuea and pain meds are given intravenously daily as to make it as comfortable as possible and blood levels are checked every other day. You will usually need addidtional chemo and if you recieve the autologenous transplant first, you still have the back-up option of a donor for addidtional transplants if needed (prefferably sibling.)

The level of service recieved far exceeded any expectations set previously. The doctor was actually a lymphoma patient from years before so every pain, uncomfortable feeling and every side affect was spelled out down to a T. There is such a large mass of information on the web that it is difficult to weed through and oftentimes is innaccurate. When I asked for a pamphlet I got a 257 page book that answered every single one of my questions,even those I didn't know I had yet. The staff from the receptionists to the department director were the kindest I had ever met. In fact,the receptionists that checked us in every day are like family now and regularly throw parties for the patients and set out goodie tables often to keep it a fun and bearable place to go. Family members are allowed to sit with the patients in chairs I wish I had at home,top of the line heated/cooled massage zero gravity. There was no need to wait,the staff to patient ratio was supreme so if there was an issue there was never a waiting period. In the daily fight of cancer,it would be easy for some to claim they had the best line of service and it all comes down to what the patient feels comfortable with. I,however,think this was top of the line service maqking a bone marrow transplant seem like a vacation.

If there were any tips to make this easier,less painful,less time involved,less truly frightening I would shout them from the mountaintops. The main tip i have is to weigh your questions personally. Am I more frightened of this procedure,or death? What will hurt more,my stomach from vomiting due to the chemo or the thought of my family at the funeral. There are eight different procedures involved in the transplant process and you must...I can NOT emphasize it enough,MUST follow the doctors instruction to a T. These doctors are fighting for your life often harder than you are yourself. They will tell you the complications,not to scare you,to help you accept and EXPECT them. If something happens rarely they will state that. Otherwise,you probably will experience it. Make sure your family understands that those who are not accepting of your condition or are overly emotional should NOT be present. It is very taxing on the patient and you need all the strength you can get. Allow yourself to see the sun rise and thank whatever you believe in that you do and realize it is a life changing event as well. You will now see what life is truly about,and that is my best tip. Embrace all things in life as they come,good and bad,because you have faced death and ran it over.