I am a 71 year old man and I have acute myelogenous leukemia (AML),
My recollection is that it is graded as M4. My oncologist tells me it
is not a particularly aggressive case. It is certainly aggressive
enough for my taste.
I was diagnosed in August, 1996. Induction/consolidation therapy put
me in remission. I received my induction/consolidation therapy at
Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, North Dakota. Then I relapsed in
August of 1997 and again went thru induction/consolidation and again
obtained a remission. I realized that each remission would be about
1/2 the life of the previous and knew that option would not always be
available to me because of the increasing brevity of the remission.
When I was first diagnosed I had a hospital visit from a fellow
teacher of one of my daughters in West Fargo, N.D. This woman
(approximately 45 - 50 years old) had an autologous BMT for her AML
two years prior, and it was successful. I had never heard of an
autologous transplant before that time. When I asked my Oncologist
about this for myself he said I was "too old" for it and that it was
"too hard on the body". Also, they do not do transplant procedures
in Fargo.
Since I am in excellent health with the exception of the AML, I asked
if he would refer me to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to see about a
transplant and he agreed (willingly) to do this. I went through the
full examination at Mayo and the Hematoligist said they would do it
for me but that they would do an autologous peripheral blood stem cell
transplant (PBSCT) rather then a BMT and I would have to be in
remission when they did the apheresis.
On December 15, 1997, the outpatient apheresis process began. After
24 hours of apheresis (4 hours a day for 6 days), an adequate number
of stems cells had been collected. On December 28, I was hospitalized
to receive three days of chemo followed by four sessions of total body
irradiation.
On January 2, 1998 I had my transplant (the stem cells were infused)
and four days later became an outpatient. For the next three weeks I
stayed at the "Transplant House" in Rochester. My wife stayed there
too and was a great source of support, especially in terms of
preparing the appropriate food. On January 20, I was released and
went home to LaGrande, Minnesota. My care was transferred back to
my regular oncologist at the Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo.
I am now on day 200 and so far, doing just fine. I have since found
out that I am, by nine years, the oldest PBST patient they have ever
done at Mayo. They had used the procedure on other old people but
they all had lymphoma, not leukemia.
No one knows how long my transplant will last but I am sure I am
already on "transplant time". I feel certain I would have relapsed by
now had I not had it.
I am telling my story because I want to give hope to older people and
encourage older people who are in good health (except for their
illness) to consider BMT or PBSCT. We need to take an active interest
in the procedures that are available and not always accept the first
word or decision of our doctors, well meaning as they may be. We need
to assess our own health status and make our own decisions if we
possibly can.
Believe me, I am grateful to the Lord, the Mayo Clinic, and the Roger
Maris Cancer Center for each and every additional day of life I have
been given. I currently play golf three to four times a week (walk 9
holes), am enjoying my family, and trying to get the most out of
life. Since I was diagnosed, I have learned never to complain about
the weather, my golf game or the other minor annoyances of life --
even though some might think we have a right to complain about cold in
Minnesota
If any of you readers would like to correspond with me about my
journey with AML, I will try to respond to your e-mail.
Ken Beckman
LaGrande, Minnesota
kab@rea-alp.com
Copyright © Ken Beckman, 1998
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