Lauren's Race To Recovery: Sunday, July Twenty-Eighth, Two Thousand and Thirteen

Hello all,

I finished ten rounds of radiation this past Wednesday, July twenty-fourth. The radiation itself was pretty easy and painless. The only side effect I have experienced is fatigue. Thankfully, radiation didn't affect my numbers or blood counts. We drove up daily for treatment. I will have a PET scan this Friday, August second. The scan will show if the radiation worked and if there are any new spots...so please keep me in your prayers that the scan comes out clear!!

There are several pre-transplant tests that I must do to prepare for the Stem Cell Transplant. I will go to Columbus tomorrow morning and stay until EOD Tuesday. I will attend an information class and have several tests including an MRI of the brain, bone marrow biopsy, EKG of the heart, spinal tap, and blood work.

A stem cell donor has been contacted and has agreed to the transplant so that is great news! The donor is a 28 year old male. I do not know where he lives or anything about him. I will be able to write him a thank you card after the transplant...but other than that, I can contact him one year from transplant. I hate that I have to wait so long but that is the rule in place. My admission date is August fourteen. There is a five or six day chemo involved prior to the transplant so I imagine the actual transplant will take place at the very end of the month.

I will update the blog once I get the results of the PET. Thank you all for reading and keeping up with my journey. It means a lot to know that I have such a large support team behind me :)

Ringing the bell for my last radiation treatment