Update 2023-0910

Focus on Stem Cell Mobilization

It is said that when you blow on a dandelion puff, your dreams and wishes will be carried on the wind and eventually come true. This enchanting bit of folklore has made dandelions a symbol of hope and imbued them with the magical power to manifest our deepest desires.

Dandelions was the image that came to my mind when I started visualizing the process I’m in the middle of now — Stem Cell Mobilization.

I am receiving injections of a synthetic growth factor every twelve hours for four days to increase the number of stem cells in my bone marrow. We are growing so many stem cells, way more than ordinarily fit in the bone marrow, that some (lots) will need to migrate out of the marrow and into my bloodstream. That is exactly what we want to happen. I need four to five million stem cells for the transplant, but eight to ten million cells or more would give us a buffer for future rescue if needed. I like redundancy.

In a couple of days, we’ll use an apheresis machine to capture these precious seeds of immunity that are cruising on the current of my bloodstream. (I will explain the collection part of the process in an upcoming newsletter.) Right now the focus is on producing lots and lots of stem cells. I’m using every tactic I have for success in this venture. The Hutch is supplying the medical wizardry. I am working on the energetic and mindset part of the process.

An opportunity to help on an energetic level

Within my wonderfully diverse circle of friends, some of you will think my views about the impact of energetic work and visualizations to be a toe or two over the edge into the realm of weechillie poachallie. That’s ok.

For those of you who embrace ideas like mine or employ sparkles or prayer or whatever works for you, I have a very special ask.

For the next couple of days, I encourage you to join me in picturing the stem cells in my bone marrow multiplying to great numbers — millions of great numbers. Picture this mobilization/migration flowing smoothly as the volume grows, without any “traffic jams” of backed up stem cells or cells otherwise stuck in the marrow. Just a smooth, easy, consistent flow.

Signs of Progress

One of the early determinants of how well the stem cells are multiplying is the results of the White Blood Cells (WBC) test. Usually an elevated WBC is an indication of inflammation or infection. Under these circumstances, it is an indication of the production of stem cells. We are off to an amazing start. My WBC went from 6,000 to 32,000 in 24 hours with first day of G-CSF Growth Factor injections. WBC does not equal stem cells, it is just an indicator. There are more sophisticated tests that will count the number of stem cells as they are harvested.

We’ll do a CD34 test before attempting harvest. The CD34 is a more definitive check on the likely number of stem cells in my bloodstream. Based on that result, we may move on to collection or we may give the G-CSF and my bone marrow another day to work on production.

How’s Gloria Doing?

It made me giggle when someone asked me that question in an out-of-context setting. He too laughed and simply said, “I read your blog.”

Today is a much better day with Gloria. I’m still experiencing some shooting pain with certain movements but those are expected to go away as the line settles into place and the inflammation at the incision sites subsides.

It is quite something to imagine tubing, about the size you’d use for a small water fountain pump, running under the skin of my chest wall and doing an allie-oop up and over the top of my clavicle as the tube heads into the chest cavity to join up to a large vein just over the heart.

We had a small hiccup with Gloria having a bit of a bleed. It wasn’t anything serious; just a matter of balancing the cocktail of medications I’m receiving to minimize the damage done by cancer drugs I had earlier in my treatment. It was another fabulous opportunity for Jackie and me to experience the level of care in the Transplant Clinic. All the staff really wants us to tell them everything and ask every question we have. It feels like a safe and supportive environment as we continue out-patient treatment for as long as we can sustain it. If an infection rears its head, from either external contamination or viruses and other things that lay dormant within me but may reawaken when my immune system is destroyed by the high-dose chemo, I will likely need to be hospitalized for a while. In- or out-patient, we are seeing evidence daily that we are in good hands.

Weather & Gratitude

The weather continues to be perfectly Seattle. We are quite grateful about that as our apartment does not have air conditioning. The typically temperate conditions make for pleasant walking. We enjoy our daily walks to and from The Hutch. There is a fairly steep hill involved and I’m pleased to say that it is simply a challenge, not a barrier.

Jackie and I feel well supported. We are grateful for all the ways so many have let us know you are with us. It helps us get through each day with a splash of panache.

May you stay safe, be well, love much and be loved, and have a life of ease.  💕

With all our love,
Mary & Jackie