For Tracie

Tracie wrote, in part: "My dad was diagnosed with MM Sept 07, it has been one hell of a yr so far! He was on velcade/doxil/dex and had a very good response to that (they never say "remission") and he is due to have an "auto" transplant in early June (have you had one of these?) It has been delayed twice because of problems, so this evolution-that the cancer may come back before the transplant has been a big worry. Well, I guess all we can do is take one day at a time, right?"

Yes Tracie, I had an autologous (auto) transplant. There is a period prior to transplant when all the patient's bone marrow is killed by chemo. Then there is a day when the patient's previously harvested cells are injected back into him/her so that they can engraft, or start to grow again. This day is generally called our "birthday". Mine was November 30, 2007. I was having a new birthday at about the time your family was coming to grips with the whole ordeal.

It seems like your dad is pretty lucky to be ready for stem cell harvest this early in the game. His numbers must be impressive and/or the Vel/Dox/Dex was very effective against his disease.

Your dad will need lots of support after his new birthday. The auto transplant isn't an easy endeavor. His whole body will mutiny and it will be up to him to maintain order on the good ship "Dad".

As a patient, let me reaffirm what his doctors will tell him:

1) All of his mucus membranes will fail him. This will include everything inside his mouth, nose, eyes, stomach, and intestines. They will be dry and irritated. He may be able to tolerate the burden at home, but most patients get to a point when they decide it's best to go into the hospital for a few days. Don't look at it as a sign of weakness. It's just a necessary step in recovery.

2) Make sure he stays active, VERY active, no matter how bad he feels. I had some rather severe reactions to the process and they kept me in bed for a long time. By the time I was finally able to act on my own, I was severely atrophied. I lost all my muscle tone and couldn't keep my balance or walk up the stairs in our house. If I had paid more attention to staying in shape despite the misery, I would have recovered in half the time. It took roughly 3 months for me to get back in the swing of things. I could have done it in a month if I'd kept plugging along.

3) He will have an extremely bizarre sense of smell and taste. This will be coupled with a strong potential for being sick to his stomach. Spontaneous projectile vomiting can happen without warning simply because someone says "chocolate milk" or if he smells a banana. He'll have his own triggers that will set his stomach in motion. DO NOT let him eat his favorite foods until he's recovered and his sense of smell/taste has returned to normal.

4) He will have no appetite and will lose weight. Try to feed him citrusy and tart/sour foods. They seem to taste most like they originally did and this can be helpful for getting some food in him.

Finally, some questions from me. Where is your dad getting treatment and how old is he?

Here's an FYI for all of you. I can be emailed directly at andreshomescapes@hotmail.com