It is a very tough process but the only curative measure.
He will go through a 6 or 7 day chemo process that basically destroys his existing bone marrow system...over the following week.
He will have a day off after the chemo...and then they will harvest the stem cells ( basicallt white cells) from the donor...which I hear is his brother. Only 25 % of ANY/ ALL of one's siblings is an exact match......so that in itself is a miracle.
They drip the bag of stem cells, taken from his brother, to Joe over 30-40 min. It is very non invasive.
His blood counts will crash over the following 7 days and leave him very succeptible to infection. They are always in air filtered rooms by themselves and all visitors have to be very sterile.
From day 10 -15 the white, red and platelets from the donor's cells start to bring the bone marrow to the point where it is producing normal cells and at an appropriate level.
The next danger is a disease called Graft vs. Host disease (GVHD) ....where the donor cells can/ will attack some of Joe's organs...skin, liver, pulmonary etc. It is a positive if this happens because it also proves that the donor cells are attacjing any remnant leukemic cells. GVHD is grade from 1-5 level. Level 1 or 2 is okay.....but above that the patient is in serious danger.
Joe will be given high doses of immunosuppressant drugs...like Prograf, Celcept...and Steroids to prevent high level GVHD. He will be within 5 minutes of the clinic for 100 days and have his complete blood tests and labs every day for the first little while.
He will have a caregiver with him during the time after he gets out of the hospital til at least the 100 day mark.
It is a good 1-2 years before he will have 95-100 % quality of life.
Risky business to be sure....God bless him.
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