Diane Jensen: More test results, more delays

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

More test results, more delays

Yesterday, blood test results came back with problems. Blasts in circulation blood have been at 1.0 since mid May thru June 12. Yesterday the blasts came back at 7.0. The acceptable level must be below 3.0 to be able to do transplant. This is an indication that the MDS disease has gone active again and with a vengeance.

The bone marrow transplant has been postponed indefinitely. Had we gone forth last week the transplant would have been ineffective and much difficulty would have been experienced.

There is a possibility that the test was wrong in its results. The results have been sent to the pathologist for review, evaluation and verification or correction. Their finding will be ready tomorrow.
We have an appointment tomorrow for another blood test and a visit with the doctor to discuss the course to be taken forward. The steps could include, doing nothing, heavy weight chemo (a concoction similar to the first one in Dec., which was ineffective), or a chemo which is in the same family as Vidaza which we just finished but which has lost its effectiveness.

We appreciate all your prayers and fasting, they give us strength. Please pray that we may have clear direction and calm hearts.

7 comments:

JulieJune 16, 2015 at 1:16 PM
I love you Diane.
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Penny :)June 16, 2015 at 5:25 PM
Sorry to hear about the news. I put your names in the temple today. We love & pray for you & your family.
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Ash + DustJune 16, 2015 at 8:19 PM
We love you. You are in our hearts and always in our prayers.
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patsyJune 16, 2015 at 8:30 PM
Lots of love coming your way and lots of prayers said in your behalf...we all love you and your family!!
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Amber and EverettJune 16, 2015 at 9:02 PM
Lots of love and prayers coming your way from the Taylor's ❤️❤️
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griselda aguadoJune 16, 2015 at 9:43 PM
I love you, God is with you.
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wendy smedleyJune 17, 2015 at 6:17 AM
Thinking and praying for you and your family.
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Diane is very thankful for any well wishes, even if she is not able to respond to all of them.

Diane's MDS Diagnosis

The hospital encourages visits when she is home or inpatient. Call first to insure she feels well enough at any particular time for visiting. Her immune system is severely compromised, so we ask you not to visit with young children or if you are ill. Currently she is an outpatient.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is a bone marrow disease much like cancer. If left untreated, it will eventually lead to the failure of the bone marrow (requiring transfusions) or Leukemia.

The only way to prevent this is undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Presently, her blast counts are increasing faster than expected but have not reached the level of Leukemia. Her blood counts are lower now and she has had a transfusion to help with this. She is to proceed with the bone marrow transplant now because of how rapidly the MDS is progressing.

Diane will enter the LDS Hospital's Bone Marrow Transplant Unit on Wednesday, December 17^th. She will undergo alternating rounds of chemotherapy for about 2 weeks. The chemotherapy will kill the blood producing cells, as well as her immune system.

Once the blast counts are reduced enough, then Diane will receive a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant. Diane’s sister, Tracey, is a half match and is to be the stem cell donor. However, effort is still underway to get a full match in time for the transfusion. The purpose of the transplant is to have the healthy stem cells replace the unhealthy ones killed by the chemotherapy (in the bone marrow). Once the transplant is done she will be on medicine to prevent rejection for some time (estimated 6 months to a year).

Mid term bone marrow biopsy coming up on (day 17) Friday, Jan. 2 nd. Find out if more chemo might be needed after the results of that test come back. Then another biopsy about day 35. Transplant could take place around day 42 the doctor said.

At this time (June 30) no transplant is scheduled. The disease became active again about mid June. Her blast numbers increased rapidly within just a weekend. Had they been able to do transplant (June 8) it would NOT have been successful, and she would have gone thru much trama for nothing. She has started another round of chemo aimed at controlling the MDS to lower blast levels.

Both the chemotherapy and the stem cell transfusion will be very hard on Diane. We ask for your prayers of strength and comfort on her behalf.

This site will be updated with Diane’s progress.