page 2 bone marrow and stem cells

[Guest guest]

From the same link as the last post-keep in mind that they previously said

that both are stem cells, but for the aticle Bone marrow meant bone marrow

stem cells and stem cells meant collected from the blood. They don't

mention umbilical cord blood/stem cells..

What is a stem cell or bone marrow transplant?

A blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant allows you to have much higher

doses of chemotherapy than usual, to improve the chances of curing the

disease. Very high doses of chemotherapy, sometimes with radiotherapy, are

given over a few days.

The two main types of transplant are described below.

* Using

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Gene

ralinformation/Whatisatransplant#2343#2343> your own stem cells or bone

marrow

* Stem

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Gene

ralinformation/Whatisatransplant#2083#2083> cells or bone marrow from a

donor

* Giving

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Gene

ralinformation/Whatisatransplant#9418#9418> your consent

Using your own stem cells or bone marrow

Your own stem cells or bone marrow can be used to allow you to have high

doses of chemotherapy. This is sometimes called an autologous transplant or

an autograft. But, strictly speaking, only situations where stem cells or

bone marrow are taken from someone else are actually transplants. Throughout

this booklet the term high-dose treatment with stem cell support is used

rather than autologous transplant.

High-dose treatment with stem cell support can be used to treat a number of

different cancers - lymphomas, leukaemias, myeloma, testicular cancers and

others.

High doses of chemotherapy and sometimes radiotherapy are given to improve

the chances of curing your cancer. The high-dose treatment will destroy the

cells in your bone marrow. Your own stem cells or, less commonly, bone

marrow can be used to help 'rescue' you from this intensive treatment. Some

of your own stem cells

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Stem

cellandbonemarrowtransplants/Collectingstemcells> or bone marrow

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Stem

cellandbonemarrowtransplants/Collectingbonemarrow> are taken and stored

before you have high doses of treatment. When the treatment is over, your

stem cells or bone marrow are given back to you through a drip into a vein

(like a blood transfusion

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Supportivetherapies/Bloodtransfusi

ons> ).

In order for a high-dose treatment with stem cell support to be successful

it is important that there is no sign of any cancer cells in the bone

marrow. So these treatments are usually given if the cancer has not spread

to the bone marrow or has been cleared out of the bone marrow by previous

chemotherapy treatment. Sometimes bone marrow is put through a type of

cleaning process (purging) to try to remove any cancer cells that may still

be present.

Although high-dose treatment with stem cell support is a serious procedure

it is less complicated than using stem cell or bone marrow from a donor (see

below). There are fewer complications and recovery is faster. It is carried

out in many cancer treatment hospitals.

back

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Gene

ralinformation/Whatisatransplant#top#top> to top

Stem cells or bone marrow from a donor

In this type of transplant stem cells or bone marrow are donated by another

person (a donor). Doctors call this an allogeneic transplant or an

allograft. It is used as part of the treatment for cancers which are in the

bone marrow, such as leukaemias and myeloma. It can also be used to treat

some rare non-cancerous diseases of the bone marrow.

Treatment with chemotherapy is given to destroy the cells in your bone

marrow. Afterwards bone marrow donated by someone else (a donor) is given to

you. This means that you have a source of healthy bone marrow, which will

also help you to recover from the effects of the high-dose treatment you

have had. The most suitable donor is usually a brother or sister whose bone

marrow is a close match to your own

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Stem

cellandbonemarrowtransplants/Findingthedonorforanallogenictransplant> .

Occasionally it is possible to use bone marrow or stem cells from an

unrelated donor if tests have shown that his or her white blood cells are a

good match with yours.

When stem cells or bone marrow from a donor are given into the body the

donor cells can sometimes attack the cancer cells. The donor cells can also

cause a reaction in the body known as graft-versus-host disease

<http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/copy

_of_Stemcellandbonemarrowtransplants/Graftversushostdisease> (GVHD).

An allogeneic transplant is a serious and complicated procedure. This

intensive treatment is carried out in specialised transplant units in

specialist hospitals.

Peace Be With You,

~Pattie~

Piedmont Triad, NC

Mom to , age 12 & healthy, , age 9, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome

and ph, age 8, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome

Our family website: www.shwachman.50megs.com