Re: Good test results!

August 17, 2005

Best wishes, Dane for continued increase of donor cells and just enough GVHD to

take effect. In the interim, back away from that ledge! You're NOT a mountain

goat!

L

[ ] Good test results!

Hello all, have not posted in a while. I just returned from a family reunion

in Granby, Colorado.

I decided to leave for Colorado a week early and take a slow drive north,

making frequent stops for fishing and photography. It was a glorious week all

by myself in God's Country! I then picked up my family at Denver Airport and

continued on to Granby for the reunion.

I had my July tests just before I left, and decided not to inquire about the

results until my return. I just wanted to shut all that off and enjoy my trip.

Anyway, I came home to very good news. My test results in May showed a heavy

drop in my post transplant donor cell percentage: only 80%. This caused my onc

to stop all anti rejection meds to try to rev up my new auto-immune system. The

sudden stop also increases the risk of severe GVHD.

I showed up for my June test with no outward signs of GVHD, thinking that I

was still shedding off the graft. Those test results came back 80% donor cells

again. The oncs said this was good news, as the percentage was the same as in

June, not less.

July passed with still no outward signs of GVHD, but the tests at the end of

the month were much more encouraging. I am back up to very close to 100% donor

cells and my BCR-ABL via PCR was down to 0.27 from 1.02. Apparently, stopping

the Prograf helped restore my donor cell count, which means the transplant could

be " taking hold " .

Now I am left with a bit of a " champagne problem " . I started back on Gleevec

shortly after the transplant because my bcr-abl number was increasing. I slowly

worked my way back up to 800mgs. Now that my donor cell percentage is back up

and my bcr-abl is back down, I have no way of knowing if it is the Gleevec or

Graft versus Leukemia (or both) that is reducing the bcr-abl level. I will

discuss what to do about this with my oncs in Houston on August 23rd.

Best regards, Dane

Here is one of the better shots from my trip, taken up on Mt. , Colorado

at about 14,000ft.

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