Kristina got word today that two possible stem cell donors have been located and are going through the evaluation process. The primary option is a 34-year-old American male who, it is hoped, will have an evaluation done next week. The backup at this point is a 23-year-old European woman.
Meanwhile, Kristina has met with her new doctor, as well as a social worker at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and is now considering two different protocols for her treatment. Without going into too much detail, one protocol is quite severe during the transplant process, but it has a better relapse-free survival rate after the transplant. The other protocol -- the first one recommended for her -- is less severe (though still very unpleasant) during the transplant process, but the post-transplant survival numbers are less encouraging.
There are published studies on both protocols out on the web. Even the Abstract on these is full of statistics and acronyms, but we're offering them, anyway. A study of her first recommended protocol was published in the journal Bone Marrow Transplantation. The other protocol she is considering was the subject of a study in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.
I spoke with her for some time on the phone today, and she sounds good. I'm sure she'd love to read some comments on this post, so don't be shy!
PS: I also changed the background color and added a Hit Counter at the very bottom of the page.
2 comments:
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Kristina - We miss you at work! I think about you every day and always put good thoughts out there for you. I didn't get to know you much before you were gone but I did always think you'd be one I wanted to know better. Something about your upbeat spirit and smile. Don't let all this crap change that about you! It was soo good to see you a few weeks ago, you looked great. Keep positive, Luana
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