Stem Cell Transplant pressure

Specialties Oncology

Published

Hi there,

I am not a nurse, but I am a multiple myeloma patient with Stage I myeloma. I have been in active treatment for the past half year or so, and the MM specialist has been literally pushing me into a Stem Cell Transplant.

Having preambled with the above, I was wondering whether any nurses have had this experience with either a doctor they have been working with, or with a hospital / clinic SCT department.

Needless to say this is most disconcerting, and I apologize in advance for my forward question. But I think you would understand my concern in the position I currently find myself in.

Thank you so much.

Kind regards, Maurice

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

If you are not happy with your current care provider, the best thing to do is get a second opinion.

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Specializes in hospice.

What are your objections to a stem cell transplant?

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Specializes in oncology, hospice.

Don't allow yourself to be pushed into ANYTHING. This is your life, your journey and the outcomes will affect only you. I work on a stem cell transplant floor now and have seen many people with good outcomes and many people with just the opposite. That said, only you can make this decision and only you will live with the consequences of it. Be informed and seek other opinions from people in your situation and their doctors too.

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It does not strike me that an SCT is a "one size fits all" solution. That is my common sense speaking. I began at Stage I last September, with numbers that were not terribly high, although above Ref. Range. Currently, the M-Spike is unquantifiable, whereas the highest it had been was 0.5. The Kappa Light Chain (the kind I have) is at 9 now, and the highest it had been was 35.

I am feeling very well at this time, and I do think it would be a prudent path to go down, engaging in high risk that could easily curtail not only my well-being by putting me in harm's way, but also curtailing the quality of life in the short-term as well as long-term.

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My sentiments exactly! Thank you.

This is a momentously difficult journey, with life-altering decisions racing at me.

Part of the recent struggle has been the ego of my current onc. This has no place in this environment. What a pity.

Thank you for your comment.

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Is your doctor afraid of the cancer getting worse or coming back? Are you in remission? I had leukemia 6 years ago & opted out of doing a stem cell transplant. I just did 6 months of chemo & achieved remission after 2 months of treatment. & then 4 months into treatment, I was almost normal again. Went back to college, got a summer job...life was great. & after 1 year and 3 months of being into remission, my cancer came back & my only option was the stem cell transplant. I did it with only an 80% match & 4 years later, I'm still kicking. Living life to the fullest. Got my BSN, got married, moved to another state, etc. But my doctor in the very beginning pushed the transplant. Even searched for the donor in case I changed my mind, but I said no...lots of risk involved & it's still fairly new compared to traditional treatment. Choice is always yours though!

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