Adventures in BMT: Day -2

“Cancer is a word. Not a sentence.”
– John Diamond

First off, Happy Father’s Day to Ramon, the man who personifies the word. He is the best man for the job and our kids are blessed to have him as their father.

As for me, I was hooked up to one IV bag or another all day long. Today was pivotal as they brought in the big guns to get me ready for transplant in two days. My drug regimen included several new meds by mouth and several intravenously.

Added to the protocol were Micafungin which prevents infection in people undergoing stem cell transplant and Prograf, a medicine used to help prevent organ rejection in people who have had a transplant. Melphalan is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their spread in the body. Interesting thing about this drug, you must eat ice cream, Popsicles, and ice chips during and two hours after its infusion to minimize the mouth sores it causes.

For the record, I had strawberry ice cream, chocolate ice cream, a lemon Outshine bar, a fruit and veggie Outshine bar, numerous cups of ice and an Italian ice. So there.