About

In June of 2011, my mother, Kathy, was diagnosed with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia. She was 63, and in otherwise perfect health. Her leukemia was discovered when she went into the emergency room with stomach pain. Doctors initially thought she had diverticulitis, but a scan showed that her spleen was incredibly enlarged. By the end of the week her spleen had been surgically removed, and a bone marrow biopsy showed that she had CMML. In July of 2011, my Mom became a patient of both Dr. Philip Nivatpumin of Upper Chesapeake Hematology and Oncology and of Dr. Douglas Smith of Johns Hopkins. From July 2011 until March 2012, Kathy was treated with the chemotherapy drug Vidaza, as well as Hydroxyurea. Though the “proliferative” portion of the disorder never completely responded (her white cell counts were often up), her bone marrow in April showed less than 2% blasts. On April 29, 2012, Kathy entered Johns Hopkins for a bone marrow transplant. I am Kellie, her daughter and her donor (I am her half-match). The purpose of this blog is to keep family up to date about my Mom’s progress and to share any information we can with other transplant patients.