"When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around" The Police

An' here I sit so patiently

Waiting to find out what price

You have to pay to get out of

Going through all these things twice.

Bob Dylan

I am still cancer free, but it looks like I may be rejecting my graft. My critical T cells fell to just over 50% donor down from 64% only 6 weeks ago, and my monocytes and granulocytes made in my marrow are all mine, 100%  recipient. No donors cells to be found. Looks like I needed to be hit with a bigger immunosuppressive hammer a the time of the graft. Looks like my own marrow and immune system were just too robust and beat back my invading donor. I was just too darn healthy at the time of transplant. I had this foreboding in hospital. It explains why I have had such an easy time of it and no (GVH) graft versus host disease.

This is bad news, no doubt, but the same blood test that showed the falling chimerism, also showed no CLL. So first I repeat the CT scan, repeat the bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and repeat all the lab test in 2 weeks and than I begin down a new path.

A donor leucocyte infusion (DLI) is possible, but not likely. Chemo is much more likely soon, and at sometime in the future almost for sure, a redo transplant, this time with a bigger chemo hammer. Could be real soon or years away. It could be never.

My leukemia sure took a dive with only 1 course of chemotherapy as it looks now like my remission was from the conditioning therapy (a common cocktail called FCR by its fans for its famed mix of the potent and poisonous fludarabine, cytoxan, and rituxan) and not  the much desired GVL (graft versus leukemia). Not really certain that is true. Not really certain of anything at this point. If it was the chemo, then it must be very sensitive which bodes well. And I feel well. And I look marvelous. Just ask my wife. All that is good.

I am off my anti-rejection drugs (tacrolimus and sirolimus) and my prophylactic antibiotics as of today. That may boost my donor T cells or maybe knock them out faster. Who knows?

I would say I won round one by a wide margin, but this will be a long fight. I was hoping for an early knock out, but I am dealing with a patient and wily, but weakened opponent. I remain certain of my ultimate victory. I'd be lying if I said this was a good day, but you would be mistaken if you thought I was going to be down for long.