September, 2002
Just wanted to share the latest. We were in Boston today for Dave's check-up -- 2-1/2 years post-transplant. Times flies, huh? This was a pretty basic visit -- the doctor asked how Dave was doing, they discussed a couple minor things, the doctor looked at Dave's eyes, listened to his lungs, felt his spleen, and said come back in 6 months. He'd like Dave to continue taking Gleevec, mainly because the treatment is so new, there is no information for him to go by. He did mention that in non-transplanted patients who have stopped taking Gleevec and relapsed, the disease recurs in a very aggressive form. Thanks to the transplant, Dave has donor cells that are functioning in his body -- actually, most of Dave's cells are donor cells based on the test results from his last biopsy. However, since we're so cutting edge, and there's a lack of information about post-transplant patients who have stopped taking Gleevec, the doctor is playing it safe and keeping Dave on it for a while longer. He did mention that of the post-transplant patients taking Gleevec, 80% had achieved molecular remission (that's for me!).
Hope this finds you well.
Allison