Goldmine848 wrote: "One thing I find a bit confusing is when I read about the numbers of stem cells harvested. My doc said they shoot for 5 million and use 2 million for a transplant so there are enough for two. In my case they got 5.5 million so I was done. And yet I hear others talk about harvesting 8, 9 or 10 million. Not sure why there is such a discrepency or whether there are different counting methods."
I just finished my harvest last week. It took 2 days and had 5.1 million harvested the first day and 3.3 million the 2nd day for a total of 8.4 million. My doctor said they can use between 2 and 5 million for a transplant so I figure I have enough for 2-4 transplants. My doctor's information on how many cells is needed for a transplant was similar to your doctor's information. I'm curious as to how they determine how many to actually use for a transplant.
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DallasGG - Name: Kent
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 6/20/2013
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
I just thought I'd mention that there are advantages to collecting more cells than the minimum needed for 1-2 transplants.
Different centers will have different minimums, but usually it is in the 2-3 million range per transplant. Using more cells leads to a slightly faster engraftment and therefore a reduced risk of complication like getting an infection.
In the US, it is standard to collect enough cells for 2 transplants. At some centers in Europe, they collect enough for 3. Since I am relatively young (46) for a myeloma patient and hope to be fighting for many years, I requested to have enough collected for 3 possible transplants - I therefore came back and collected for 3 days in a row and had about 12 million cells collected, with the plan of using 4 million each time.
Different centers will have different minimums, but usually it is in the 2-3 million range per transplant. Using more cells leads to a slightly faster engraftment and therefore a reduced risk of complication like getting an infection.
In the US, it is standard to collect enough cells for 2 transplants. At some centers in Europe, they collect enough for 3. Since I am relatively young (46) for a myeloma patient and hope to be fighting for many years, I requested to have enough collected for 3 possible transplants - I therefore came back and collected for 3 days in a row and had about 12 million cells collected, with the plan of using 4 million each time.
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rush451
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
My experience was somewhat different than the others noted.
My insurance required that the harvesting take place in a hospital. After seeing the video regarding the collection process I thought I would be out of there within the day. Despite the Neupogen and Mozobil shots it took four times over five days to collect 5.1 million stem cells. My oncologist felt the slow rate of collection was due to the beating that my bone marrow took from the myeloma. He asked me if I wanted to make one more attempt at collecting, but I felt both emotionally and physically I had enough!
My best wishes to you all,
Tom
My insurance required that the harvesting take place in a hospital. After seeing the video regarding the collection process I thought I would be out of there within the day. Despite the Neupogen and Mozobil shots it took four times over five days to collect 5.1 million stem cells. My oncologist felt the slow rate of collection was due to the beating that my bone marrow took from the myeloma. He asked me if I wanted to make one more attempt at collecting, but I felt both emotionally and physically I had enough!
My best wishes to you all,
Tom
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Tom184 - Name: Tom
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: January 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 64
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
My experience was much the same, I live in Spain I hour from Valencia so am having my treatment at the famous teaching hospital La Fe. Mine lasted between 4 to 5 hours and they had enough in one procedure, I have a central line because my veins are always difficult to find so this is so much more comfortable than the pricking and prodding when they want blood. The insertion of that was also quite easy.
The only advice I would give is do make sure you have completely emptied your bladder, that bed pan is so difficult.
I also had the prior injections at home, my husband gave them to me sub cu for 5 days, and the hospital provided them. I had no bone pain although was told to expect it.
I am now waiting for the call to go in for the transplant.
My big problem is peripheral neuropathy, my feet are so bad I can hardly walk. I have been trying to research this but cannot find out very much and would appreciate any help. I am on masses of pills and have had different selections but nothing makes it go away.
Thank you and good luck everyone
The only advice I would give is do make sure you have completely emptied your bladder, that bed pan is so difficult.
I also had the prior injections at home, my husband gave them to me sub cu for 5 days, and the hospital provided them. I had no bone pain although was told to expect it.
I am now waiting for the call to go in for the transplant.
My big problem is peripheral neuropathy, my feet are so bad I can hardly walk. I have been trying to research this but cannot find out very much and would appreciate any help. I am on masses of pills and have had different selections but nothing makes it go away.
Thank you and good luck everyone
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
Sorry to hear about your peripheral neuropathy, millie bowler.
There are a number of discussions about peripheral neuropathy here in the forum. Unfortunately, it's a common problem among myeloma patients, both because it's a treatment-related side effect, and it also can be a symptom of myeloma itself.
You can find all the previous discussions about peripheral neuropathy here in the forum by following this link.
Or, if you want to get advice specific to your case, you could start a new discussion in the Treatments & Side Effects forum?
Best of luck to you!
There are a number of discussions about peripheral neuropathy here in the forum. Unfortunately, it's a common problem among myeloma patients, both because it's a treatment-related side effect, and it also can be a symptom of myeloma itself.
You can find all the previous discussions about peripheral neuropathy here in the forum by following this link.
Or, if you want to get advice specific to your case, you could start a new discussion in the Treatments & Side Effects forum?
Best of luck to you!
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
Robin wrote: "I was lucky and did not have to have a central line placed. A very large IV line in the left arm, and a very small in line in my right hand. I also prepared for 5 days and finished the collection in 1. That was back in 2012. I have yet to have the transplant due to CHF early on in my treatment but I have achieved a zero M spike with 6 rounds of VRD and Revlimid maintenance ever since."
Your harvest sounds identical to mine. all except for the "small" line in your right hand. As my wife told our daughters, they were big HONKING needles! LOL! 5 days of of Neupogen shots that I gave to myself (2 a day) and finished the collection in about 6 hours.
Your harvest sounds identical to mine. all except for the "small" line in your right hand. As my wife told our daughters, they were big HONKING needles! LOL! 5 days of of Neupogen shots that I gave to myself (2 a day) and finished the collection in about 6 hours.
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Guitarnut - Name: Scott Hansgen
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Sept 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 47
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
Goldmine848 wrote: "One thing I find a bit confusing is when I read about the numbers of stem cells harvested. My doc said they shoot for 5 million and use 2 million for a transplant so there are enough for two. In my case they got 5.5 million so I was done. And yet I hear others talk about harvesting 8, 9 or 10 million. Not sure why there is such a discrepancy or whether there are different counting methods."
I believe the discrepancy is because we all produce a different amount of stem cells. They collected 16 million in 6 hours from me. Yet others take several days to get 5 million. I believe it's dependent on the patient and how well they respond to the Neupogen and Mozobil.
I believe the discrepancy is because we all produce a different amount of stem cells. They collected 16 million in 6 hours from me. Yet others take several days to get 5 million. I believe it's dependent on the patient and how well they respond to the Neupogen and Mozobil.
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Guitarnut - Name: Scott Hansgen
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Sept 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 47
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
Millie wrote:
You may want to ask your physician if you might have POEMS Syndrome. My husband has been through so much and it ends up that he has POEMS! It is extremely rare. However, one of the biggest problems is peripheral neuropathy!
Good luck!!!
My big problem is peripheral neuropathy, my feet are so bad I can hardly walk. I have been trying to research this but cannot find out very much and would appreciate any help. I am on masses of pills and have had different selections but nothing makes it go away."
You may want to ask your physician if you might have POEMS Syndrome. My husband has been through so much and it ends up that he has POEMS! It is extremely rare. However, one of the biggest problems is peripheral neuropathy!
Good luck!!!
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Tisha
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
I just finished with collection this past week. On December 11th, I was in the hospital overnight for high-dose Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide). On the 13th, I began 300 mg Neupogen injections at home, then had to double up to 600 mg beginning on the 19th. I also had to take Cipro (ciprofloxacin) for 10 days during this time.
I went back to the hospital on Monday, December 22nd, for collection. My WBC count the previous Friday was 0.4, now it was up to 16, so I was good to go. I was given a 600 mg injection of Neupogen in the morning, then sent to radiology for a central line, then back to pheresis for collection.
Because of heavy chemo pre-treatment (9 months non-stop) and being a petite woman, my oncologist expected it would take 3 to 4 days to collect and I would likely need Mozobil (plerixafor) added in the hospital. (Mozobil a new drug to help mobilize stem cells). The pheresis nurse let collection run an extra 15 to 20 minutes at the end, just so she could "up" the count. She was hoping we could get at least 2 million. She said she would give me a call at the end of the day or early in the morning when the count came back from the lab and let me know how many stem cells were collected.
Much to my surprise (and everyone else's), at 5 pm I received a call that 9.3 million stem cells were collected (enough for 3 transplants - they like 2.5 million a transplant). I needed to come back to the hospital in the morning to get the line out, but no more collection! I fooled everyone. I guess it goes to show - you never can tell. The transplant takes place January 5th.
Everything went well until now. The strange thing is that, since I'm back home, I feel extremely tired. This is a physical tired, sleeping a lot, my body feeling drained. Also, I am in pain as I now have terrible neuropathy in hands, arms and feet. I've suffered with neuropathy on-and-off with chemo, but it is now back with a vengeance. Ugh!
I went back to the hospital on Monday, December 22nd, for collection. My WBC count the previous Friday was 0.4, now it was up to 16, so I was good to go. I was given a 600 mg injection of Neupogen in the morning, then sent to radiology for a central line, then back to pheresis for collection.
Because of heavy chemo pre-treatment (9 months non-stop) and being a petite woman, my oncologist expected it would take 3 to 4 days to collect and I would likely need Mozobil (plerixafor) added in the hospital. (Mozobil a new drug to help mobilize stem cells). The pheresis nurse let collection run an extra 15 to 20 minutes at the end, just so she could "up" the count. She was hoping we could get at least 2 million. She said she would give me a call at the end of the day or early in the morning when the count came back from the lab and let me know how many stem cells were collected.
Much to my surprise (and everyone else's), at 5 pm I received a call that 9.3 million stem cells were collected (enough for 3 transplants - they like 2.5 million a transplant). I needed to come back to the hospital in the morning to get the line out, but no more collection! I fooled everyone. I guess it goes to show - you never can tell. The transplant takes place January 5th.
Everything went well until now. The strange thing is that, since I'm back home, I feel extremely tired. This is a physical tired, sleeping a lot, my body feeling drained. Also, I am in pain as I now have terrible neuropathy in hands, arms and feet. I've suffered with neuropathy on-and-off with chemo, but it is now back with a vengeance. Ugh!
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Melpen - Name: Melissa
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 5, 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 57
Re: Stem Cell Harvest - The Complete Guide
Since it might be helpful for anyone looking to this thread to get a sense of the different stem cell collection experiences people have, we thought we would point out that forum member Castaway posted earlier today information about his stem cell collection experience over in the thread "Stem cell harvest / Lyrica & bone pain from Neupogen" (started Mar 14, 2015).
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