GVHD

Still no chemo ... have GVHD (graft vs host disease) and have to get that under control first. Skin rash, dry/sore mouth and eyes and problems with the liver. On a hefty dose of prednisone and that has relieved the skin, mouth and eyes but the liver hasn't responded yet so have to add some more immunosuppressant drugs. Just hoping that suppressing the immune system won't stop the GVD (graft vs disease) fight that we hope kicked in when the chemo gave Grant's graft a chance to take hold. Frustrating but hanging in there. Still requiring regular red cell transfusions etc. Have been getting out and about a bit when the counts are up. - a day at the beach in Carmel and a visit to see the guys at work.

'Bout time for an update

Been busy celebrating birthdays. Celebrating good news too .. that the azecitidine (chemo drug) is battling the cancer. With the unexpected quick and good response to the drug they think it may be working to give the donor system a boost fighting the disease as well as knocking down the cancer itself. The bone marrow is looking a heck of a lot better than it did at Xmas time. The plan is that "when your on a good thing, stick to it" so they want to continue monthly cycles of chemo for a least a few more cycles and see what happens. We did delay the next round though because they want the neutrophil count to be recovered a bit before knocking it down again so have to wait until it reaches a certain theshold. Still requiring red blood topups but otherwise just the usual trips to Stanford and feeling pretty good overall.