Day 56

Hard to believe that it has been almost 2 months since Eric's transplant.

He's still doing very well - better than I could ever have hoped. He does have a very slight rash on his wrists and a couple of bumps on his palms. The BMT docs had a look at it on Tuesday but it's not significant enough to confirm that it's graft vs host disease (GvHD). Unless it gets worse, they have decided not to do anything. And as of today, it hasn't gotten worse and it's not bothering him. Typically GvHD will show up on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet first, so it is quite likely is a bit of GvHD as his new immune cells recognize the other cells in his body.

It's a bit of balancing act at this point... We want those new cells to recognize unfamiliar cells in hopes that the new immune system will kill off any cancer cells. Yet we don't want the immune system so stimulated that GvHD becomes serious. If the rash worsens or other signs of GvHD appear, they will treat with prednisone.

Other than that, his blood counts, weight, etc are all good. He has weekly appointments for bloodwork and to 'check him out'. Between visits, he still needs to check his temperature regularly -- fever is still a serious concern. His PICC line will stay in for a bit longer and he has to get homecare to change the dressing weekly. He's down to 4 meds -- Tacrolimus (immunosuppressive), Acyclovir (anti-viral), Pantoloc (an acid reducer) and Septra (antibiotic).

And that's how things are 8 weeks post transplant!