Autologous stem cell transplant blog11/29/2023 ![]() This was so that I could recover from the conditioning chemotherapy I had just endured. I began to feel this way while laying in quarantine for three weeks in Dana-Farber's Inpatient Hospital. ![]() While it was ultimately the best decision to go through the stem cell transplant for my specific case, I wished, at that point in time, that my life could go back to the way it was before cancer. I felt unsafe in the world because of my increased susceptibility to infection. Afterwards, I tiptoed around corners and was paralyzed with cold sweats and fear while in public. I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the age of 22, and my immune system essentially restarted after receiving my transplant. Going through COVID-19 pandemic and going through a stem cell transplant is eerily similar. ![]() At that point, though, I was bald and craving sugar, and it had been just one month after my stem cell transplant.įor patients who know what it’s like to have their immune system severely compromised due to cancer treatment, any additional exposure to vulnerability almost instantly brings back that fight-or-flight reaction. I stood in the exact same line at this local pharmacy chain in Maine with the exact same feeling of intensity while wearing a surgical mask and gloves. While fight-or-flight can be new to many, it’s something that cancer patients - and those who have been through a stem cell transplant - work very hard to let go of. This highly tense and energized encounter at the local drug store can be contributed to the fight-or-flight response that we all are experiencing to some degree right now when we go in public. I waited until the gentleman had checked out, and even exited the pharmacy, before I cautiously approached the counter and loosened my tightly clenched jaw. I slowly inhaled and exhaled through my surgical mask, causing my glasses to fog up. The man checking out 6 to 8 feet in front of me was slender, with dark unbranded sneakers, his salt and pepper hair gelled back. Former Dana-Farber patient Ethan Hawes, who was treated for multiple myeloma, shares his advice. ![]()
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