My MCL Journey

 Hello All.....Day +2 as I write here. I had a successful 7 days of chemo from the 12th - 18th, followed by 2 rest days and the big moment.....re-infusion of my stem cells (aka stem cell transplant).  Overall, I've had relatively light side effects (knock on wood). Here's a few pics of how the meds flow and the ridiculous amounts of fluid being pumped into my body. The stem cell transplant itself was anti-climatic, just like a blood transfusion, took no longer than an hour to complete. The cool parts about it were the cryo chamber they come in and the weird taste that hits your taste buds, due to the preservatives...tasted like garlic, creamed corn (and supposedly smelled like that to others in the room - Nurse / Cryo Guy / Maneesha). So now that the SCT is complete it's just a waiting game with my blood counts. I have to bottom out and as of now I'm pretty much there. I expect to have some platelet transfusions over the next couple of days and hopefully my counts will

 Hello All....just a quick update that my PET scans came back all clear and I approved to move forward with my Stem Cell Transplant (SCT). I checked into the hospital on Tuesday 1/12. I've had 2 rounds of chemo already and am feeling good. Walking about 3 miles each day and keeping active. Hope you are all off to great start to 2021! Here is a calendar of timing re: the SCT.

 Hi everyone (still following 😀). If you are, thank you and you've reached the best note yet! I finished my 6th and final round of chemo on 12/1. I've had 2 blood tests since then and both times my bloodwork has been great (so no transfusions). For the 1st time ever my Hemoglobin was in standard range (above 13)!  I have my PET scan scheduled for early January...the moment of truth. The PET scan will determine if I'm in remission. So far all signs have been positive and pointing to yes, so keep your fingers crossed.  Assuming I'm in remission then I will go in for my Stem Cell Transplant on January 12th. I will have a week of intense chemo followed by the infusion of my stem cells to help me recover. I could be in the hospital anywhere from 2-4 weeks (hopefully closer to 2!). Other than that everything is going great so THANKS for everyone's love and support! Life is Good Erik

 Hello all. A bit late here but I had a successful Stem Cell Harvest and my 5th round of chemo the week of 10/26. It was the hardest week I've had throughout all of this but it's in the rearview now and as I stated the harvest was successful. My next, and last chemo treatment is scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving. Then I will have my Stem Cell Transplant the 2nd week of January. Right now I'm feeling great and even went for my 1st run (1.25 miles - w/o walking!). More to come and here's few pics of the free Halloween costume I got as part of the harvest!

  Hello family & friends...it's been a while since my last post. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. The pneumonia was the cause of my issues post chemo (rounds 1 & 2) and the last 2 rounds (3 & 4) have been non-eventful and I've felt great (for the 1st time since last year) !   2. After my 4th round I was due for a lot of testing to determine 1) If the treatment is working and 2) based on that; will we move forward with my Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) after my 6th treatment.  A MOMENT OF TRUTH! I received all my test results yesterday 10/22 and I'm ecstatic to report that everything is moving as planned, the Dr.'s are happy. More specifically ( for the Dr. folks out here 😀 ), from my bone marrow biopsy there is no bone marrow involvement and from my CT scan my spleen is back to normal size, no new areas of growth and many lymph nodes are back to normal size (some still a little larger than normal but that could just be scarring - won't know for sure ti

I've been waiting to write this post to make sure I was in the clear (Knock on Wood - I hope/think I am) ! I had my 3rd round of treatment back on Aug 31st - Sep 2nd. Outside of a few days of very itchy, annoying skin and the usual fatigue I have had no issues from my chemo - NO HOSPITAL ! Even better my blood counts are now starting to rebound and hold where they should be. I have not had to have a blood transfusion in 4 weeks and I get to skip next week's blood draw/testing all together. All of this is gravy but the more important part is the Doc said they are seeing very encouraging signs that my body is responding well to the treatment (meaning that the chemo is working and/or cancer is dying) . I will have full body scans after my next treatment to see to what degree. I've had normal energy to keep up with and enjoy the kiddo's and have even gotten in a couple rounds of golf...life is good! That is all for now.