Deciding Whether a Bone Marrow Transplant Was Worth it for Me

A study of Time, Trust and Team-building.

A final haircut before admission and chemotherapy.

Nearly 1 hour north of where I lived, in a standalone Cancer Center apart from the massive Hospital complex, I met with the transplant program’s chief architect and leader. I cannot understate how important this meeting was, because the choices were basically suffering through daily short-term misery forever, or undertaking a risky but often successful procedure complicated by my case of myleofibrosis.

The meeting lasted nearly two hours, as we got to know one another through q&a, bouts of humor, and discussions of case histories.

What I Learned

There are various kinds of bone marrow transplants, some being simple, others being far more complex. According to Medline Plus, there are two basic types:

• Autologous bone marrow transplant — The term auto means self. Stem cells are removed from you before you receive high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The stem cells are stored in a freezer. After high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatments, your stems cells are put back in your body to make normal blood cells. This is called a rescue transplant.
• Allogeneic bone marrow transplant — The term allo means other. Stem cells are removed…