went to the clinic yesterday for follow up. my blood counts are all normal, my chest seems clear and the splenic nodule has reduced.
after the follow up, me and my brother (plus mum and dad) met with another specialist for transplant consultation. it was a lot of info!! for the donor, the doc gave two options. the first is to go under GA for stem cell collection from the bone marrow. The doc said the procedure would take about 45 minutes, then rest for two days, afterwhich the donor can resume his normal life. The second option is stem cell collection from the peripheral blood. The donor will receive 4 days of GCSF injections to get his bone marrow into overdrive. Once the system is in overdrive, the stem cells will spill into the blood stream, which will be available for collection. This procedure takes 4 hours, but it's relatively painless compared to the first option. My brother decided to go for the second option.
as for me, the next step is to go for a mini-transplant. Doc explained that mini-transplants are designed for elderly patients and patients with fungal infections (like me). The dosage of radiotherapy and chemotherapy for a mini-transplant is about one-fifth of a conventional transplant. The good thing about a mini-transplant is that my immune system won't be wiped out entirely. However, the chances of the leukemia not entirely eradicated will be higher compared to a conventional transplant.
so, i'm here resting at home, trying not to get infected with anything more, hoping that the fungal infection in the lungs will totally clear up by transplant time. at the moment i'm trying to keep my lungs fit by doing deep-breathing exercises and blowing balloons. I'd like to take daily walks in the park, but at the moment my leg is not allowing me to do much brisk walking.
ciao!
