My optimistic treatment timetable

I have Retford this using GoodReader, an app that I can recommend!

I am currently in the first cycle of chemo called induction, which is designed to get my leukaemia into remission. If all goes well the chemo ends in the first week of February. I will then stay in hospital whilst my blood counts recover, which should take about a week. If the signs are good they will do a bone marrow biopsy to confirm my remission, and I will be allowed home for a week or maybe more as respite from hospital. I am not in good physical shape, but I will try some gentle exercise to get back some muscle tone. Then, I will have the second cycle ...

The second cycle of chemo is called consolidation intended to consolidate the remission (also known as induction phase 2). If all is well, they will treat me as an "ambulatory outpatient", which means that instead of an inpatient bed at £750/night they put me up in a nearby hotel (£150/night) and I am treated as an outpatient. I don't stay home because that is an hour away - too far in case of emergencies. Since I will be staying with the great unwashed, I assume I will not go neutropenic, and if my drug regime is good I should be able to even eat out in restaurants! This second cycle lasts another 4 weeks, with post treatment recovery time, and then another spell at home, probably finishing at the end of March. We can then move on to the transplant ...

My knowledge of the actual transplant process is a little sketchy, but certainly I will be admitted to the place I am now, and blitzed with chemo to destroy my stem cells. This is the part where I will be weakest, sickest and most prone to infection. When I am ready, they will prep Harry with a course of injections that stimulate his stem cell production, and then on the day he will come here, they will harvest his stem cells and inject them to me. They will then hopefully manage my body so that the transplant takes, using immune suppressant drugs and whatever (I will learn more nearer the time). The fact that Harry is a perfect match and CMV- improves the chances of a good transplant, but there is a significant risk. The post-transplant recovery time can be long. The consultant led me to think months rather than weeks. If the transplant happens at the end of April, and there are no complications, I image I might be recovered by the summer. I have set my boss's expectation for a return to work in October, which I hope to better, but as you can see there are many variables. Probably the biggest risk is a major infection pre transplant.