Cytarabine Round Completed

            Happy Labor Day! We arrived at MGH the Friday of Memorial Day weekend for a week on Lunder 10, the inpatient cancer floor. Now David’s been back in Lunder 10 for a week, public school is in session, and dusk falls earlier once more.

            Sunday morning David had the final 3 hours of high dose cytarabine; he ate a bit of breakfast, but nausea is still an issue. An anti-nausea medication that he tolerated earlier, Zofran by IV, gave him an odd reaction. Dehydration would cause the cytarabine levels in the bloodstream to rise and raise the risk of cerebellum damage. The cerebellum is the back part of the brain that controls fine motor movements and coordination, including the ability to walk.

            For now, we wait and see. Dr. Chen and Dr. Fathi will decide when to give David the DLI (Donor Lymphocyte Infusion), using the white blood cells Sam donated two weeks ago.

The hope is that the cytarabine chemotherapy will destroy most of the leukemia over the next week,  and Sam’s infused cells will attack the remaining blasts in an effect that’s called GVT (graft versus tumor). The stem cell transplant did not accomplish this.