Wednesday 11 July 2012

One year of Azacitadine over. Unrelated donor transplants soon to be available in Plymouth

I have just had my clinic after 12 courses of chemo. My counts are all very good, so I start year two next Monday with a half dose for 5 days. The consultant is very very pleased with my reaction to the treatment. I can now work a pretty normal day. Eg two days ago I drove for 5 hours with a trailer on the back while bringing a borrowed rare breed bull back to the farm for a year. OK I was very tired afterwards! Then I will delay for 5 weeks before my next course, as my son is getting married and I did not want to feel grotty from chemo on his wedding day. Roz is still doing very well, although her 96% donor : her old bone marrow ratio had dropped back to 91%. Naturally these ups and downs make you feel very concerned, although we have to remember that all these tests have a + / - percentage. So the same test taken a few minutes later could give slightly different results. Partly this is due to the sample taken, and part to the type of test. Ratios done from the bone marrow are far more accurate than from blood - but of course far more traumatic to have taken. Good news The Plymouth Hospital has just recived confirmed funding and immediate go ahead to create a state of the art new ward so that they can, for the first time, do unrelated bone marrow transplants. This is fantastic news for patients in Devon and Cornwall who often have to travel hundreds of miles to a suitable facility. The new ward should be open later this year