Deb: If you go through and get the transplant, you need to look at the "Centers of Excellence" and ask you r insurance company which are their centers that they pay for. United Health Care worked with me on this in 2003-2004 because I was having so many reactions to Gleevec, that Dr. Druker wanted me to have a Plan B. Luckily, I never needed a Plan B. But the process was interesting. They listed two, at the time, for CML. One was Hutch (in Washington State) and the other close to home was in Tampa, Florida called the Moffitt Center. I asked United Health Care which one they recommended...they recognized both. I asked them to please do some research for me for specifically CML. The only answer back was Hutch! Their outcome with CML patients was extraordinary! There may be more centers out there, but with United Health Care's Transplant Center, these were the two options. Hutch (Fred Hutchinson) was very cooperative. They knew Dr. Druker well. They did not have me come out there but they did have blood drawn in Miami and then processed it at their center in Washington. They do a 10 out of 10 match. They work with perfection on the matches. Unfortunately, I have a rare blood type with one of the markers...another rare item for me! The match could not be done for free any longer and would require a 6 month to one year search. United Health Care was more than willing to pay for this. It is very expensive. Dr. Druker and I decided that my blood was on file now at Hutch and to sit back and wait. (A long story, but my two sisters refused to be typed even after hearing that one marker was very rare.) Like I said, I am one of the lucky ones, Gleevec is working for me but at a low level.
I wish you well on your journey. Keep us informed! Hugs, Susan Rosenthal Miami, Florida dx. January 8rd, 2003 Began Gleevec: 4/10/2003 Ceased Gleevec: 4/21/2003 "Rebegan" Gleevec: 4/25/2003 Tranfusion dependent: May 2004-November 2005 Gleevec reduced to 400mg: 8/2004 Gleevec reduced to 300mg: 8/2005 Gleevec reduced to 200/300 alternating days: November 7, 2006 to present day Still undetectable 9/20/2007 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
