Tuesday, March 9, 2010

DAY +278: inconclusive results

Top Line: Susan's not doing too badly, but the docs aren't sure what's going on

Yesterday Susan was up in Boston for an endoscopy and a consult with Dr. Soiffer, the oncologist who's overseeing her transplant and recovery.

The endoscopy revealed no signs of GVHD (graft vs. host disease) in her stomach or above; however, it did show something going on which they are uncertain about at this point.

The liver biopsy which Susan had a bit ago indicates GVHD affecting the liver, but it isn't a severe, debilitating case. The treatment for this, upon which she is about to embark, is low dosage steriods.

Susan continues with her pattern of a couple of good days followed by a bad day. Why she should experience this fairly regular cycle no one knows. Perhaps it's the GVHD, in which case the steroids may resolve the matter, or perhaps it's due to whatever it is that was noticed in the endoscopy, or perhaps it's something else entirely. Let's hope some clarity emerges at her next Soiffer visit, which will be in about a month.