John was lucky with his first stem cell harvest so they had enough for the second sct and they didn't have to harvest again.

All the best luck to Stephen, hope he will have the same experience as John. According to the nurses it isn't unusual that 2nd time is easier.

Love
Amelie

Great news for both of you, I am so happy for you!

I am so terribly sorry to hear this.
Your mom made a great difference to us here in this forum.
All the best wishes to you.

Hi Debs,

I don't know if they are available here, but I will check it out – if not there will for sure be something similar. Can the patient bring his own ice and can all kinds of ice be used? Maybe even vanilla ice? Or should it be water based?

I really hope to find an alternative, because after last time he couldn't even watch someone…[Read more]

Hi Mavis,

Thanks for your good wishes, it means a lot!
Definitely John is in a much better condition before this sct than before the first when he had gone through the surgery in his back due to the loss of 2 vertebraes.

The 2 years which have passed have been absolutely wonderful. We have enjoyed every second, been laughing a lot and had…[Read more]

Hi Dai,

Good to hear thalidomide wasn't that bad… Of course my impression is influenced by the reports from the 60's and 70's.
We are planning another concert together and I am wondering if it is possible to conduct while being on thalidomide and corticosteroid, but I hope so!

John's stem cells were collected in only 4 hours so apparently…[Read more]

Thank you Keith and Dai for the replies.

I just wonder why they would collect for 3 sct if they would never give the 3rd one…

The doctor won't give him Velcade again since he got it as preparation to the first sct. This time it will be thalidomide, we are a bit nervous how it would be. Did any of you have thalidomide?

Thanks a lot for…[Read more]

Thanks a lot Keith, it is SO good to know that there IS a chance for a longer second remission. It means a lot to have a hope!

When they collected John's stem cells they got enough for 3 transplants. Has anyone heard of someone who got 3 transplants? I am just wondering because obviously I start to think about what they will do when he relapses…[Read more]

Thanks a lot.

Does anyone have some good links to info on 2nd sct?

What happened to this thread? Suddenly I couldn't see it in the Gerenal forum. :-0

Thank you Tom, is there any chance for that? I thought 2nd sct would always last shorter than the first one 🙁
I know some people have absolutely no result of their sct, and compared to those we have been extremely lucky. The almost 2 years after the first sct has been absolutely wonderful. Just hoped for a bit more.
Thanks again,
Amelie

Thanks for your encouraging message – good to hear it can be easier 2nd time.

As far as I remember the cold "thing" I heard of wasn't eatable, I will try to surch.

The problem is that the doctor says very little, and John is certainly not good in asking questions, that is why we always know so little. 🙁

Love
Amelie

I am so sorry – I send you all my best wishes and thoughts!
Love Amelie

Hi Phoebe,
Just wanted to say that I am amazed about your initiative and good work. People like you make a difference. Your dad must be proud of you!
Love Amelie

Thanks for your reply. I don't have myeloma, but my friend John has and he was not offerede Revlimid after his successful sct in August 2010. Now the myeloma seems to be back and I can't stop thinking that it might not have happened if he had got the Revlimid maintenance. On the other hand we wouldn't know if he had tolerated it.
Now we are…[Read more]

Thanks for the reply – I will look for information on that trial.
All the best to you.

Hi Carol,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Revlimid. I am very interested in this since it is never given here (I am in Denmark).
Are you in the UK? And is Revlimid maintenance normally offered after a sct?

I know Revlimid is not well tolerated by everybody but it is still nice to have the possibility to try it.

I wish you all the…[Read more]

Thank you Gill!
Did I understand you correct that Stephen has an ok pp, but bone damage anyways?
Thanks for the good wishes and same to you!