Life saving Stem Cell transplant
Donation protected
My name is Rick and I am 46 years old. I currently am fighting terminal lymphoma and thyroid cancer.
Currently everything that has been done has not been able to treat the disease. My only option to date is an alternative stem cell treatment that is not covered by insurance
I am right now at a place where my white blood cell count is good and through chemo the tumors have gone down I have a small window to get what is a autologous stem cell transplant. What that does is they use harvested stem cells that are harvested and frozen and then given back to me through transfusion. Primary CNS Lymphoma: In this type of lymphoma, malignant cells form in the lymph tissue of the brain and spinal cord. Primary CNS lymphoma may occur in people with AIDS, and other disorders of the immune system or who have had a kidney transplant. It usually does not spread beyond the central nervous system. I was just told if I was going to do this now based off of my test results I need to do it on 4-26-17. That is only a week.
Here is what happens during the process
The first part of the stem cell transplant process is called conditioning. During this time, you'll receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to damage and possibly destroy your bone marrow.
The stem cell transplant itself replaces the damaged bone marrow with healthy stem cells. You can think of stem cell transplantation as a transfusion of blood and immune cells rather than a surgical procedure.
If your bone marrow were not replenished after very high doses of treatment, your blood counts would not recover for at least several months — or perhaps not at all. With a boost from a stem cell transplant, your blood counts should return to safe levels in two to six weeks.
Chemotherapy is a treatment with anti-cancer drugs that disrupts cancer cells’ ability to grow and multiply in your body. The goal of treatment is to kill as many cancer cells as possible.
However, chemotherapy can also affect non-cancerous cells. The normal cells typically affected by chemotherapy include bone marrow, hair follicles, and cells of the gastrointestinal and reproductive systems.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or beams to kill or stop cancer cells from growing and dividing. Radiation is often given in combination with chemotherapy.
Some stem cell transplant patients receive total body irradiation treatment. Unlike radiation that targets a specific area of the body, total body irradiation treats the entire body with radiation to kill the cancer cells and suppress the immune system.
Because cancer cells tend to grow at a faster rate than other cells in your body, chemotherapy affects cells that grow quickly more than cells that grow slowly.
However, some normal cells also have a fast rate of growth, including blood cells. A side effect of chemotherapy is that it may kill young blood cells as they are growing. It can take anywhere from three to ten days for your blood cell count to fall to its lowest point.
When radiation is used to prepare you for stem cell transplant, it targets cancer cells and also suppresses your immune system.
Your blood will be tested to see how many of each type of blood cell you have. This is called having your “counts” checked. While you are in the hospital, your counts are checked daily. Your nurse or doctor will tell you when your blood counts are expected to be low. The time when your white blood cell and platelet counts are at the lowest is called your nadir.
My counts can affect my treatment, activity level, and infection exposure.
White blood cells
White blood cells are responsible for fighting infection. Your normal white blood cell count is 4,000 to 10,000.
There are three main types of white blood cells: neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. Neutrophils, the most important infection-fighting cells, consist of "polys" and bands. The total number of polys and bands is referred to as the absolute neutrophil count (ANC).
Here is what will happen during the process:
Your bone marrow transplant occurs after you complete the conditioning process. On the day of your transplant, called day zero, stem cells are infused into your body through your central line.
The transplant infusion is painless. You are awake during the procedure.
The transplanted stem cells make their way to your bone marrow, where they begin creating new blood cells. It can take a few weeks for new blood cells to be produced and for your blood counts to begin recovering.
Bone marrow or blood stem cells that have been frozen and thawed contain a preservative that protects the cells. Just before the transplant, you may receive medications to reduce the side effects the preservative may cause. You'll also likely be given IV fluids (hydration) before and after your transplant to help rid your body of the preservative.
I currently have to raise $20,000.00 for the treatment. This is my only chance for living otherwise I will probably not make it to Christmas. If I do this I have over an 80% chance of beating this. If I do not I will die.
Guys I have 3 kids, and I only have 1 daughter. I never knew how short life was until this disease, and I never knew how much I loved or needed my family until this happened to me.
I want to walk my daughter down the aisle, I want to see my grandkids one day. I never realized how awesome the laugh of a baby was until this happened.
This is my only chance at survival. Like I say everything else I have tried has not worked.
I am desperate to live
Here is what will happen to me if I can get the treatment next week.
I will go into the Siteman Bone Marrow and Stem Cell treatment center in St Louis MO. My doctors are Camille Abboud and Todd Fehniger who will be preforming the transplant.
I really need your help, I know you may not know me but please help me to live, I am not ready to die
Thank you
Rick
Currently everything that has been done has not been able to treat the disease. My only option to date is an alternative stem cell treatment that is not covered by insurance
I am right now at a place where my white blood cell count is good and through chemo the tumors have gone down I have a small window to get what is a autologous stem cell transplant. What that does is they use harvested stem cells that are harvested and frozen and then given back to me through transfusion. Primary CNS Lymphoma: In this type of lymphoma, malignant cells form in the lymph tissue of the brain and spinal cord. Primary CNS lymphoma may occur in people with AIDS, and other disorders of the immune system or who have had a kidney transplant. It usually does not spread beyond the central nervous system. I was just told if I was going to do this now based off of my test results I need to do it on 4-26-17. That is only a week.
Here is what happens during the process
The first part of the stem cell transplant process is called conditioning. During this time, you'll receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to damage and possibly destroy your bone marrow.
The stem cell transplant itself replaces the damaged bone marrow with healthy stem cells. You can think of stem cell transplantation as a transfusion of blood and immune cells rather than a surgical procedure.
If your bone marrow were not replenished after very high doses of treatment, your blood counts would not recover for at least several months — or perhaps not at all. With a boost from a stem cell transplant, your blood counts should return to safe levels in two to six weeks.
Chemotherapy is a treatment with anti-cancer drugs that disrupts cancer cells’ ability to grow and multiply in your body. The goal of treatment is to kill as many cancer cells as possible.
However, chemotherapy can also affect non-cancerous cells. The normal cells typically affected by chemotherapy include bone marrow, hair follicles, and cells of the gastrointestinal and reproductive systems.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or beams to kill or stop cancer cells from growing and dividing. Radiation is often given in combination with chemotherapy.
Some stem cell transplant patients receive total body irradiation treatment. Unlike radiation that targets a specific area of the body, total body irradiation treats the entire body with radiation to kill the cancer cells and suppress the immune system.
Because cancer cells tend to grow at a faster rate than other cells in your body, chemotherapy affects cells that grow quickly more than cells that grow slowly.
However, some normal cells also have a fast rate of growth, including blood cells. A side effect of chemotherapy is that it may kill young blood cells as they are growing. It can take anywhere from three to ten days for your blood cell count to fall to its lowest point.
When radiation is used to prepare you for stem cell transplant, it targets cancer cells and also suppresses your immune system.
Your blood will be tested to see how many of each type of blood cell you have. This is called having your “counts” checked. While you are in the hospital, your counts are checked daily. Your nurse or doctor will tell you when your blood counts are expected to be low. The time when your white blood cell and platelet counts are at the lowest is called your nadir.
My counts can affect my treatment, activity level, and infection exposure.
White blood cells
White blood cells are responsible for fighting infection. Your normal white blood cell count is 4,000 to 10,000.
There are three main types of white blood cells: neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. Neutrophils, the most important infection-fighting cells, consist of "polys" and bands. The total number of polys and bands is referred to as the absolute neutrophil count (ANC).
Here is what will happen during the process:
Your bone marrow transplant occurs after you complete the conditioning process. On the day of your transplant, called day zero, stem cells are infused into your body through your central line.
The transplant infusion is painless. You are awake during the procedure.
The transplanted stem cells make their way to your bone marrow, where they begin creating new blood cells. It can take a few weeks for new blood cells to be produced and for your blood counts to begin recovering.
Bone marrow or blood stem cells that have been frozen and thawed contain a preservative that protects the cells. Just before the transplant, you may receive medications to reduce the side effects the preservative may cause. You'll also likely be given IV fluids (hydration) before and after your transplant to help rid your body of the preservative.
I currently have to raise $20,000.00 for the treatment. This is my only chance for living otherwise I will probably not make it to Christmas. If I do this I have over an 80% chance of beating this. If I do not I will die.
Guys I have 3 kids, and I only have 1 daughter. I never knew how short life was until this disease, and I never knew how much I loved or needed my family until this happened to me.
I want to walk my daughter down the aisle, I want to see my grandkids one day. I never realized how awesome the laugh of a baby was until this happened.
This is my only chance at survival. Like I say everything else I have tried has not worked.
I am desperate to live
Here is what will happen to me if I can get the treatment next week.
I will go into the Siteman Bone Marrow and Stem Cell treatment center in St Louis MO. My doctors are Camille Abboud and Todd Fehniger who will be preforming the transplant.
I really need your help, I know you may not know me but please help me to live, I am not ready to die
Thank you
Rick
Organizer
Rick Davis
Organizer
Dallas, TX
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