A year ago

A year ago, I checked into City of Hope for my chemo conditioning for my transplant.  Whooosh. Time is a jet plane.

I never thought going in that I would reject the graft, but I did. I worried about GVHD (graft versus host disease), and infections and relapse. I really worried about dying, but I never dreamed I would reject the graft.

Maybe it was a blessing. None of the horrors of GVHD for sure. No graft so no graft versus host.

More importantly, one year later, I have never had a lower tumor burden since the moment of my diagnosis than I do now, despite my failed transplant. Almost four years after I discovered my CLL, my disease, if it is anywhere, is deep in a few nodes in my guts. And even that is in doubt. I may be cured.

And all this has happened with a single week course of heavy duty chemo (FRC), a failed transplant, a splenectomy and some immunotherapy (R) and an immunosuppressive (cyclosporin) drug, not even used to treat CLL.  Who would have thought. Not the conventional path for sure. Maybe I am a trailblazer. The jury is still out.

Soon I will update you all on my diet (still raw vegan) and supplements, but I suspect their role in my deep deep remission is supportive. While it may be possible, I have my doubts that diet and zeolite can do the heavy lifting by themselves.

So what's the story? Frankly, I don't care. This is a good place - I hope I can stay in this sweet spot, for say, another 37 years. That would make me 95, and I would be ready then to move on to my next adventure.