I have actually had a very deep response to treatment and have experienced quite manageable side effects. Nothing to complain about. I hope I do not sound to my fellow posters like a broken record.
Are there any posters who have the t(4;14) translocation who decided NOT to have the auto SCT? I was told by my specialist that an auto SCT might put me in complete remission for about twelve months before relapse. This seems to be in line with what Dr. Libby said in this posting. where he wrote:
Unfortunately, early relapse (< 1 year) post stem cell transplant can happen. This is more often true when a patient has high risk cytogenetics, such as the p53 deletion or translocation t(4;14).
I decided that, for me, the potential difficulties involved with a SCT were just not worth the few possibly gained months. I just do not know whether I made a good decision and wonder if others of you are in the same boat. Of course, I realize that a SCT remains an option for me in the next few years (I just turned 70; my thinking would probably be different if I were much younger at diagnosis) and so this issue is still an open one for me.
Many posters indicate that they have had SCTs; only occasionally do I read that someone has opted out, and that usually is because of age or some other health issues that make him/her ineligible. I was particularly interested in Tom Brokaw's situation where he was told at Sloan Kettering that he did not need a SCT, but my assumption is that Brokaw does not have bad cytogenetics and is probably IgG, although no mention of this is made in his book. Still, he seems to be an exception as far as the SCT controversy is concerned. Or is he not?
