usmcsis's Diaryland Diary

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Cancer sucks

What is Multiple Myeloma?
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow, the body's blood-forming system. In persons with mutliple myeloma, the plasma cells (a special type of white blood cell) become abnormal and multiply rapidly, crowding normal cells in the bone marrow. The abnormal, or malignant plasma cells interfere with the production of normal blood cells. The overgrowth of malignant cells in the bone marrow can also weaken the bones, especially in the back and ribs, and cause pain and bone fractures.
(The above information was taken from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.)

So my dad has Stage 3 myeloma. He starts chemotherapy on Monday. They plan to try chemo for 3 months and after that time they will put him in the hospital for 2 to 3 weeks and use his own blood and bone marrow to attempt a transplant.

They will harvest certain cells from his marrow and blood and use these cells to generate more that do not have the cancer in them. Then, they can transplant his own cells back into his body, drastically cutting down on the chance that his body may reject the transplanted cells.

Stage III: 5-year survival rate 10% - 25%. Median survival time about 23 months.

Of course, each person's survival depends on more than their stage. Although a patient's stage helps in estimating their prognosis, it is impossible to predict anyone's outlook for certain. Many of these patients live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis, and 5-year rates are used to produce a standard way of discussing prognosis. (The above information was taken from The American Cancer Society.)

8:46 pm - 15 Aug 2002

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