In this page, I share my leukemia treatment timeline, documenting the stages and experiences of my journey through Philadelphia-positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ ALL) treatment.
My Leukemia Treatment Timeline: A Personal Journey
Pure Red Cell Aplasia
Pure Red Cell Aplasia from mismatched blood type (donor A+ recipient O+) transplant. My marrow has not been producing red blood cells since the transplant. This caused me to receive 2-3 Pack Red Blood Cell transfusions every 2 weeks.
Day 100 of Post-Transplant
Happy 100th day post-transplant to me!
Happy Birthday, Papa!
The Lord is good!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Therapy
To reverse Pure Red Cell Aplasia, I have to get this super expensive treatment called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy that hopefully will promote antibodies to fight the virus or whatever’s blocking my red cell production. I will have a total of 34 big vials of this human donated Immunoglobulin.
Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Relapse
I had a sudden headache and fever. I immediately informed my doctor and went to the hospital for some tests. Test results showed that I had a high WBC count which is an indicator of Leukemia relapse. This time it was found out that my leukemia subtype is Philadelphia Positive. I was immediately admitted to the hospital for salvage chemotherapy — Hyper CVAD and Ponatinib TKI.
Day 40 in the Hospital
Finally after going thru 2 weeks of hyper CVAD chemo, 9 intrathecal chemo to my spinal fluid, countless blood transfusions, 2 fever scares, and more than 15 gcsf injections. I am now ready for my bone marrow biopsy. Please help me pray and cry out to God for His favor. We ask God that the bone marrow aspiration procedure will be smooth and painless. We pray for wisdom once again for the doctors who will be doing the procedure. But most of all, we pray that the biopsy result will show NEGATIVE presence of leukemic cells. In Jesus’ Name!!!
Bone Marrow Biopsy Complete Remission
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!
My bone marrow biopsy result is negative for leukemia blasts. Hallelujah the Lord is faithful! He is indeed the God who heals!
Ponatinib Maintenance
Ponatinib is an antineoplastic (cancer) medicine. It interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed by the body.
High Dose Dexamethasone for PRCA
It has been 241 days since my transplant in November of last year. I have battled against one relapse and also acquired Pure Red Cell Aplasia, which causes my bone marrow to fail to produce red blood cells. Thus, making me anemic and relying on blood transfusions every 3 weeks or so. We have tried and completed 2 treatment routes to cure it — IVIG and Prednisone. Both of which didn’t show any signs of improvement.
Friends, please pray with me as I start a new line of treatment tomorrow. I will be taking High Dose Dexamethasone for 4 days in the hope of curing the PRCA.
One Year Leukemia Anniversary!
Today’s my 30th Birthday and I also consider it my leukemia anniversary! The high-dose dexamethasone cured my PRCA! My RBC counts have started to increase slowly!! Praise the Lord for today!
One Year Transplant Anniversary
Today, November 26 is my bone marrow transplant anniversary! What a year it has been! So many ups and downs, so many things to be thankful for, and so many people to thank. But what I am most thankful for is that God has brought me closer to Him through this leukemia journey! THANK YOU JESUS!
Happy thanksgiving everyone! Thankful for all of your prayers.
