Weekend Update and some BMT info

As expected not a whole lot of activity this weekend as Trish recovers from her recent dose of chemo (Friday/Saturday). She is sleeping much of the day and feeling nauseous and sick much of the day. But I can always find something to say -- I'm a DiComo after all....

Last night I spoke with her and she was pretty tired and attivan loopy. She's starting to show signs of being worn out by all of this....She told me to tell her next time somebody wants to slowly poison her to death to save her life to think twice about her options....I have always admired the way she accepted her treatments and knew that she had to plow forward to have a chance and had a strong and simple will to survive. I knew that she would need this attitude, faith and drive to get through the treatments. This admission of being human concerned me, but honestly it's also overdue. She has been through so much already and it is just beginning.

When I spoke to her this morning, she sounded more awake and renewed to fight this thing. In rounds this morning, Dr. Karp told her to chill out, they won't even begin to look at her counts for two weeks. With this round of chemo behind us, so begins the next round of waiting.

If you want to know more about the BMT process, I've included some links below and an e-mail from our favorite doctor - Elizabeth Griffiths.

http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/kpr/bonemarrowtransplantprogram.cfm

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/briefs/mentalhealth/hb050414b.htm

http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/body.cfm?id=675

From Dr. Griffiths:

Dear Chip,
I agree completely, I am afraid of the BMT as well, the downside of transplant is easy to see, but the problem with relapsed leukemia is that it is absolutely not curable with chemotherapy alone. The BMT is a blunt instrument, it is not what we would choose for her in first remission, but given her relapse, the standard of care is bone marrow transplant, provided she acheives a remission with our current therapy. I think you and she and all of your family are right to be afraid. The only thing I fear more than a transplant is the leukemia.

As I said to Trish, and I think I've said to you before, I anticipate that Trish will get a remission with the current thearpy. I am very hopeful that the day 14 marrow will show us exactly what we expect to see, (that is to say nothing) and that she will recover her counts afterwards quickly. I have no reason to believe that she will have any trouble getting a remission. The proof of efficacy, more than in the day 14 marrow will be in Trish's count recovery.

I have been, and continue to be very optimistic about our chances with Trish. I have every reason to believe that she will have a remission from our induction therapy and that we will get her to the transplant and through the transplant without incident. I think part of the strategy for success must be for all of us to be both realistic, but also to be hopeful and focused on the most likely outcome, which is a good one.
I like to plan for the worst possibility while anticipating the best. We have given her the most aggressive treatment available, and now we just have to wait for the results we want, but sometimes waiting is the most difficult part.

Best,

Elizabeth