Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Defined

 

For Rob’s latest medical update, please see previous post.

There are two types of stem cell transplants, Autologous and Allogeneic. Rob will be having an Autologous transplant.

The following description of the Autologous transplant is quoted directly from the American Cancer Society’s website, for a better understanding.

“For an autologous stem cell transplant, the patient’s own stem cells are removed from his or her bone marrow or peripheral blood before the transplant. The cells are stored until they are needed for the transplant. Then, the person with myeloma gets treatment such as high-dose chemotherapy, sometimes with radiation, to kill the cancer cells. When this is complete, the stored stem cells are given back to the patient into their blood through a vein.

This type of transplant is a standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. Although an autologous transplant can make the myeloma go away for a time (even years), it doesn’t cure the cancer, and often the myeloma returns.

Some doctors recommend that patients with multiple myeloma have 2 autologous transplants, 6 to 12 months apart. This approach is called tandem transplant. Studies show that this may help some patients more than a single transplant. The drawback is that it causes more side effects and as a result can be riskier.”

Source: American Cancer Society Website: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/multiple-myeloma/treating/stem-cell-transplant.html

Thank you for reading! We will continue to post more about Rob’s stem cell transplant journey as we learn along the way.

For Rob’s latest medical update, please see previous post.

And as always, thanks for being there!!