Treatment Details

After this cyberknife regimen, the long-term treatment that Lindsey will have is called an Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. It has many similarities to the Autologous Transplant that she just completed. The major difference is that this transplant uses Stem Cells from a donor. In her first transplant she used her own stem cells which were harvested from her blood, frozen, and then transplanted back into her body after the high dose chemotherapy. This time, she will have general chemotherapy (just a few sessions), and when she is in partial remission, they will insert the donor Stem Cells. The donor cells will then engraft into her bone marrow to make a new immune system. It is that new immune system which will keep the cancer from returning. There are many hurdles along the way. First of all, a donor must be identified. Her sister, Shelley is the most likely candidate to be a tissue match. She has a one in four chance of being a match, and that of course, is the ideal, since they have the same parents and have similar DNA. The closer the tissue match, the better chance of her stem cells "engrafting" into Lindsey's system without complications. Even using such a close match, it is expected that Lindsey will have to go through what they call "Graft vs. Host Disease" or GVHD. The doctors actually count on that happening. It is part of the plan, and they have many ways to keep Lindsey protected during the GVHD process. Shelley's Stem Cells are the "Graft"; they will enter her body and attack both her immune system and the remnants of the cancer. Even though the GVHD is the most difficult part of the process, the doctor's count on it to kill the cancer for good. If Shelley is not a match, they go into the national donor registries to search for as close a match as they can find. That process can take anywhere from 2-3 months, and we are hoping that there will not be a problem finding a suitable donor should Shelley not be a match.