If you have been reading my posts for awhile, you know the Dirty Bastard is cancer. For eighteen months I have been fighting against the Dirty Bastard and recently I have been getting annoyed that I don’t seem to be doing as well in the fight as I would like to. I have complained that every PET scan along this journey, while reporting that I am moving in the right direction, has also revealed that I have not progressed as quickly or as much as my doctors would like. The tumor created by my Hodgkins Lymphoma is usually shrinking, but not enough. Biopsy results reveal some information, but not enough. Analysis on whether to radiate the tumor have determined that radiation treatment might help, but might do more harm than good. Every step has been just “okay”, and never “good” or “excellent.” That changed this weekend!
On Friday, I was notified that my test results indicated that the time to collect the stem cells for my autologous bone marrow transplant had arrived and we could not wait until Monday. So Saturday morning, I checked into the hospital and a specialist from the Hemapheresis Department was called in. They hooked me up to a series of machines that pulled blood out of my body, separated the stem cells from the blood and stored them in a little bag, and then returned the blood back to me. It was a painful and miserable process that lasted for four hours. The goal was to gather at least 5 million stem cells, but they really were hoping for closer to 7 million cells, to increase the success rate of the bone marrow transplant. At the end of the day, the machine was turned off, the huge needles removed from my arms and when the stem cells in the bag were counted, they had 17 million stem cells!!!!
I am still smiling and get a little chill when I think about how good it feels to have delivered such outstanding results. I consider this a definitive victory on my part and a trouncing of my opponent in this particular stage of the war. And it has done wonders to restore my confidence in this process and what I am going through this summer. I am shedding those negative thoughts about the cancer staying a step ahead of expected results and I am resuming my ownership of this process. Cancer is still a dirty bastard, but I’ve got the power of hope being delivered by dozens if not hundreds of family, friends and supporters. And as Christopher Reeve once stated, “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”
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Laura Gearhart says:
July 19, 2010 at 10:15 am (UTC -5)
You’re not the only one who can’t stop smiling over your 17 million stem cells!!! So glad to hear you’re back on track with a renewed sense of power and control over this SOB. I love the quote you closed this blog with. It’s so true! We are so happy and excited that your collection went so well! Love you, Laura
Karen says:
July 19, 2010 at 10:33 am (UTC -5)
DIDDO!!!!! I could not have expressed it better than Laura – we are grinning ear to ear. 17 million….ZOWEE! Amazing, amazing, amazing! (oh yeah, you will have to let us know when you come face to face with your admirer!!!) Love you tons!
Chad says:
July 20, 2010 at 9:58 am (UTC -5)
Hey Dan, now that you won your 17 million stem cells…what are you gonna do? Disney World?
Joann Green says:
July 20, 2010 at 8:01 pm (UTC -5)
Fantastic to get such great news!
JOE&BARB says:
July 26, 2010 at 3:30 pm (UTC -5)
GREAT NEWS…OUR BEST TO YOUR FAMILY..MANY PRAYERS ARE SENT YOUR WAY…