pinkjewel
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
- Messages
- 2,362
I am being tested tomorrow to see if I can be a stem cell donor for my brother. A few months ago he was diagnosed with a rare, and very aggressive t cell non Hodgkins lymphoma. After his first rounds of chemo this past Spring, he was actually feeling pretty good. Few side effects, he was still working, and, although he had lost his hair- that was about it. At his Petscan right after he finished- it showed he was clear of cancer. Unfortunately, within a month it had returned. Next chemo was with an experimental drug that had worked in 80% of the patients it had been given, but he got pancreatitis with it, very sick, and the cancer was still progressing. About 10 days ago he started a very aggressive chemo regime. It has devastated him. He can barely move, won't eat (he's dropped 20 pounds in the last 10 days), and looks like he's aged 20 years. AND he has to do it all again next week, and possibly 3 weeks after that. The oncologists think it is working, but will know better after the next round. If it's working, they want to do a stem cell transplant. Even with that , his odds are maybe 50%. Without it he has no chance. If neither my sister or i match, I guess they'll try to find someone through the registry. Hopefully, either she or I will match. I will know in a couple of weeks.
Life is not fair. My brother is a physician who has totally dedicated his life to saving others. He has lived and breathed medicine for as long as I can remember. When other Doctors would complain about long hours or working weekends- he never did- he loved his work. I'm so upset, I just had to vent a little. If you've made it through my long post- thank you for listening and please send lots of dust, prayers, or whatever you can.
Life is not fair. My brother is a physician who has totally dedicated his life to saving others. He has lived and breathed medicine for as long as I can remember. When other Doctors would complain about long hours or working weekends- he never did- he loved his work. I'm so upset, I just had to vent a little. If you've made it through my long post- thank you for listening and please send lots of dust, prayers, or whatever you can.