No match

I found out today from the transplant nurse that my brother's bone marrow is not a match for my own. I have mixed feelings about this. I am somewhat disappointed that he does not match since it would have been easier if I ever needed a transplant. At the same time, I feel like everyone is jumping the gun about doing a transplant in the first place. We are not sure if the Gleevec is working and the risks of a transplant are quite high. The nurse let me know that the next step was to look at the registries for a match.

I also spoke to a genteleman last night who was a volunteer from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They have a nice program called first connections where they put you in touch with someone close to your age who has the same diagnosis. I spoke to this person last night and it was great to hear from someone who has been through this process. He has been dealing with this for 6 years and takes Gleevec. He is not having symptoms of CML currently.

The impact that this diagnosis has had on my life has been astounding. At times, I forget that I have CML. At other times, it is all I can think about.