First Chemo

Adrienne had her first chemo yesterday, which went well. She felt fine this morning and went to school as usual. Adrienne had two cycles of this particular chemo, with good results, when she relapsed in 2002 so we know that it has few side effects.

We've decided to use IVs for the time being. Adrienne will get a port or Hickman later if needed, but right now it's nice to not have to fuss with it. The next chemo is on Monday, February 21, with infusions scheduled every other week after that for four cycles. Then she'll get another PET/CT scan to assess her response.

We are still in the process of discussing donor lymphocyte infusions. In this procedure, they collect lymphocytes from Daniel, Adrienne's donor from her allo transplant, and infuse them into Adrienne. The procedure really sounds quite simple. The goal is that Daniel's lymphocytes will kill Adrienne's cancer. The problem is that it usually causes graft vs host disease (GVHD), which is when the donor cells attack the patient. If you're interested, you can read about GVHD at http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic478.htm.

Adrienne wants everyone to know that she is doing well, determined to get rid of this awful disease so she can attend college next year. She has a very positive attitude that will surely carry her through.