Hello all, have not posted in a while.  I just returned from a family reunion in Granby, Colorado. 
I decided to leave for Colorado a week early and take a slow drive north, making frequent stops for fishing and photography.  It was a glorious week all by myself in God's Country!  I then picked up my family at Denver Airport and continued on to Granby for the reunion. 
 
I had my July tests just before I left, and decided not to inquire about the results until my return.  I just wanted to shut all that off and enjoy my trip.
 
Anyway, I came home to very good news.  My test results in May showed a heavy drop in my post transplant donor cell percentage:  only 80%.  This caused my onc to stop all anti rejection meds to try to rev up my new auto-immune system.  The sudden stop also increases the risk of severe GVHD.   
 
I showed up for my June test with no outward signs of GVHD,  thinking that I was still shedding off the graft.  Those test results came back 80% donor cells again.  The oncs said this was good news, as the percentage was the same as in June, not less. 
 
July passed with still no outward signs of GVHD,  but the tests at the end of the month were much more encouraging.   I am back up to very close to 100% donor cells and my BCR-ABL via PCR was down to 0.27 from 1.02.   Apparently, stopping the Prograf helped restore my donor cell count, which means the transplant could be "taking hold".
 
Now I am left with a bit of a "champagne problem".  I started back on Gleevec shortly after the transplant because my bcr-abl number was increasing.  I slowly worked my way back up to 800mgs.  Now that my donor cell percentage is back up and my bcr-abl is back down,  I have no way of knowing if it is the Gleevec or Graft versus Leukemia (or both) that is reducing the bcr-abl level.  I will discuss what to do about this with my oncs in Houston on August 23rd.
 
Best regards,  Dane
 
Here is one of the better shots from my trip, taken up on Mt. Evans, Colorado at about 14,000ft.
 
 


New! Sign up for local CML support group meetings in your local community at http://cml.meetup.com

Apply for Commercial Real Estate loans online and submit your deal to dozens of hungry lenders in just minutes. Loan programs for all types of business and commercial real estate. Apply anytime at http://realestatezoo.com

CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Support List)
---------------------------------
Part Of CMLHope.Com
An International Community Of CML Patients
For more information: http://cmlhope.com

Post Message: [email protected]
Subscribe:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To No Mail/Web: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To Digest: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
CML Group Web Site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CML




YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS




Reply via email to