About To Start Stem Cell Transplant

Hello everyone

My husband (53 years old - diagnosed January this year with MCL stage IV-) has completed 6 rounds of R-CHOP, he has had his cells harvested, and right now is feeling reasonably ok - a bit tired, has a bit of a cough, appetite fine (in fact he's back at the weight before chemotherapy started) We've just heard that next week he will go into the sterile room (foreseen for 5 weeks) receive all the radiation and chemotherapy treatment before they proceed with the autologous transplant. This is the part that we have both been panicking about since the very beginning of this whole "thing".

We've been told that after the transplant he will emerge like a baby in the sense that the vaccinations he had as a child or as an adult are totally removed- so no protection against polio/diptheria/tetanous etc etc etc. We also undertsand that they will not be able to re-vaccinate before 6 months to one year after the transplant. Did anyone else hear about this?

We have the agreement, in principle, that after transplant we will be able to receive maintenance therapy with RITUXAN but that this cannot be started before at least one year after transplant as the effects could be very dangerous on an immune system which has been knocked out.

If anyone out there has done this and has any ideas for keeping occupied during the sterile room time, any tips for eating or keeping OK in that room, any information or experiences you wouldn't mind sharing with me, in fact any information at all - I would be so grateful

ps-I live in Belgium

Very scared Debbie 

Hi Debbie

 This Nov. will be 3 years since my auto sct.  I was 57 at the time.  I agree it is a scary time, since there are so many things that can happen and nobody seems to come thru this adventure the same.

 True the chemo previous to the transplant takes your immune system down to nothing.  It assure that there is a clean slate, no cancer and offering a clean slate for those stem cells.  Your hubby will have to go thru the whole vaccination thing again.   Usually if your system can handle the sct regimen, the vaccine process should be easy.  My "favorite memory" is one day I came in for shots and ended up with a four shot regiment, both arms and both posterior "cheeks", then a list of what had gone where in case I reacted to anything, they could track the source.

 I spent a total of 21 days in the hospital for my sct.  Week 1 was the chemo followed by the transplant.  Once I was transplanted I hit the low spot of the chemo and spent about a week of sleeping 20 hours a day.  The other half I think I spent in the bathroom with diarreah(sp?).  I didn't want to eat, but my doc had planned ahead and new this, so I was on some sort of liquid nutrition.  I was lucky because contrary what I was told beforehand this is the only reactions I had.

 I had some cds I brought I listened to and had brought some reading but didn't do much of anything.  Depending how he feels he may not want to do anything much to pass the time.

 Hope these thoughts help.  Wishing you both the strength to move forward on this journey

       greg