Today I received my fist DLI dose. That stands for "Donor Leukocyte Infusion" but Brant renamed it "Destroy Leukemia Immediately". These are the t-cells that they extracted from my brother's blood that he gave back in July. Besides the stem cell transplant material which I received the day after he donated, they also collected extra stuff and filtered out the t-cells into 4 doses of DLI's. They have been sitting on ice - really cold ice. I meant to take a picture of the infusion but it was over in about five minutes. There is a preservative in the bag that tasted really bad (yes, I tend to "taste" things that are going in my IV). I almost gagged and he took a break with the infusion, but a piece of mint gum later I was fine and we made it the rest of the way thru. The hope is that the t-cells will seek out and destroy any bad cells (leukemia). The Vidaza chemo that I am taking makes it a little easier for the t-cells to find the leukemia. The DLI/Vidaza combo is not always effective, but is my best shot for right now. I am doing lots of visualization today imagining those little cells getting to work.
Other than that, not too much to report. My counts are still low and not showing any signs of moving up. This treatment is not a fast one....often people try it for 6 months unless the leukemia progresses. The doctors are keeping an eye on that with my daily blood samples.
They gave me the day off from clinic yesterday and we enjoyed a change in the routine and scenery. I wanted to walk some but it was very cold so we went to a mall and had a stroll. There really aren't many people around in the middle of a work day! Even though Dr. Chung said I could lift most of my food restrictions, I am still pretty picky about what I will eat since my white count is low. But I did opt to have a fresh batch of french fries from one of the burger places iu the food court and it was well worth it. I think mom was happy to see me enjoying to eat something! The drive home down Monument Ave was really pretty with fall leaves and a crisp blue sky. It sure beat sitting in a recliner getting platelets!
Tomorrow is Friday and if all goes well I should be able to go home for the weekend after a clinic visit. I can't wait to see Brant and the kids!
This blog was started in Jan '07 as a way to update family and friends on my fight against relapsed Hodgkins Lymphoma. I underwent chemo and a stem cell transplant at Sloan Kettering in 2007 and then spent six years in remission. The blog went dormant as life became less about cancer and more about living. Now I am facing Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) that has developed from previous chemo. So I have dusted off the old Blog (still very un-tech-savvy). Time to get up and fight again!
4 comments:
We are all pulling for those amazing T cells to do their job. And we appreciate every day we are given. Thanks for finding good in every day, Rachel. Mom
I love that you chose mall french fries....that's awesome (I love them, too). Maybe next time, some bacon? That's a favorite around here. I am visualizing those t-cells working also.....I hope your Friday is good and followed by a weekend with the kids and Brant. Love you.....Susie
Hey Rachel, thanks for the post - love to hear from you even on those blue days.
A mall walker, eh? Does that mean that you had to buy a velour tracksuit? I bet you're rockin' it! Be careful, once you get Mom in one she may not get out of it!! ;-)
Love,
George A.
I keep up with your posts every day and have you in my prayers. I'm visualizing t-cells with hard hats moving through and cleaning up!! We love you, Sue
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