1st Appointment with Bone Marrow Transplant Doctor at the University of Colorado Cancer Center June 15 2011

Jani drove me to the University of Colorado Hospital Cancer Center in Aurora, Colorado this morning. The drive takes just over an hour. The new University of Colorado Hospital is located on the old Fitzsimmon's Army Post. This is the old Fitzsimmon's Hospital building.

We turned left here and went to the new University of Colorado Hospital. Found our way to the laboratory for cancer patients and gave MORE BLOOD.

I continued to feel rotten, weak, and febrile. After this, we went to another cancer clinic area and I had to fill out MANY pages of history information. The medical assistant guy did my vital signs and my temperature was now 101.2 degrees and my entire head was hurting.But, the Polish Sisters still managed a smile of sorts.

Jani and I had to wait FOREVER to see the Bone Marrow Transplant Director, Dr. Han Myint. The room was COLD and I was miserable!

There was a sign on the desk in the exam room that said to "Press the Green Button on the wall if no one came for 30 minutes." Jani was pressing the Green Button - a nurse practitioner came and gave us a notebook about the Bone Transplant Center. Then, we waited some more. Finally, Dr. Han Myint came in and introduced himself to us. Dr. Myint spent more than an hour with us giving us a PowerPoint Presentation on his iPad about multiple myeloma and autologous bone transplant (where you donate your own stem cells for the bone marrow transplant).

Dr. Myint explained "CRAB" for diagnosis and selection for stem cell transplant:
"C" is for chromosomal changes (I have this); "R" is for Renal Damage (I do not have this); "A" is for Anemia (I have this); and "B" is for bone lytic changes and/or osteoporosis (I do not have this - I have osteopenia but that does not qualify).

I felt so MISERABLE and my head was pulsing - that I had a hard time following Dr. Myint's presentation. However, Jani recorded it with her iPhone and I'll have to watch again. Dr. Myint examined me and he does NOT think my port is infected, but I may be having an allergic response to it.

Because I have Stage 1 HIGH RISK multiple myeloma (with chromosomal changes - translocation of 4/14 with deletion of 13) I need immediate treatment and bone marrow transplantation after 3 or so cycles of chemotherapy. They could be harvesting my stem cells from my blood for the bone marrow transplant as early as July 25 2011.

And depending on my response to the 1st stem cell transplant, they would do a second stem cell transplant as soon as 60 to 100 days after the 1st one.

The good news to me was that they no longer have to get your stem cells from bone marrow taps. They have a blood machine that they hook you up to and the stem cells are harvested from your blood over 6 or more hours. 

Here is a picture of the machine from the internet.

Dr. Myint called my oncologist, Dr. James Moore, while we were there because he wants Dr. Moore to evaluate my port of allergic response. Dr. Moore will see me tomorrow morning prior to my 2nd chemotherapy appointment.

I climbed in the back of Bart (2006 Honda Pilot) with the memory foam bed and slept most of the way back to Greeley, Colorado. It was 90 degrees outside and I was cold with fever.  Jani is so good to me!



Arrived back home in Greeley, Colorado still feeling febrile, headachy and ROTTEN!