Ryan's story

Ryan was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma N-MYC amplified in July 2008. He was out of treatment for just over a year when in November 2010 our lives were again turned upside down when we discovered the disease had returned in his bones and bone marrow. After a year of treatment re-staging scans in November 2011 showed that he had again achieved remission.

However just 3 months later, in February 2012, end of treatment scans gave us the devastating news that the disease has returned, this time with a tumour near his spine. In March Ryan started 4 weeks of radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy. Re-staging scans in May and August showed no evidence of disease. On the 4th September 2012 Ryan received treatment in Tubingen for a haplo-identical stem cell transplant. He is a happy, active boy who is now enjoying life to the full.

Monday 21 January 2013

T-cell update

I realised it's been a while since i updated about Ryan:
As at friday donor derived t-cells have reached an unbelievable 93%! The total number of t-cells per microlitre has risen from 50 to 205 in under ten days!
This is the best news we have had in a very long time and totally reverses the situation Ryan was in. The Dr now say there is very little chance of Ryan's remaining t-cells fighting back.

As usual this good news comes at a price as this massive surge in t-cells has caused Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) of the skin. At present this is being managed by both steroid and immune suppressant creams. The rash, which is on the front and back of his torso, is not much to look at but is itching so very annoying for Ryan. The Dr's had obviously warned us that this might happen as a result of the t-cell therapy and although a worry the thought of a further transplant was much more scary and unpredictable.

Although ideally we need to reach 100% donor derived t-cells before the Dr's can say categorically that the transplant can not be rejected, it is clear that the tables have now turned and no-one expects to see Ryan's t-cells for much longer.

The Dr's are keeping a close eye on Ryan's blood results and skin condition. His bone marrow is still very weak but once there are none of Ryan's t-cells left it is hoped that his bone marrow will recover. If it doesnt the plan would be for me to donate further stem cells.

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