|
|
Jacyln Albanese writes:
My name is Jaclyn Albanese. I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid
Leukemia in October of 1998, when I was fifteen, a sophomore in high
school. I had six months of chemotherapy, which caused my hair to
fall out and made me rather nauseous. After the six months of chemotherapy
everything was going great until I started to find little red bumps
on different parts of my body. I had a biopsy done on one of them
and found out that there were cancer cells present, which meant
I relapsed and had to get a transplant. When we found out my brother
nor anyone else matched my bone marrow, the search for a cord-blood
donor started. I was told there were two that were very close matches
to me, which is two more than I expected at that point. Before I
actually received the transplant, which only took about five minutes
to transfuse, I received radiation and more chemotherapy. I had
the transplant in the summer of 1999. After the transplant I was
confined to my hospital room for five weeks and when I was able
to leave I had to wear a mask over my nose and mouth when in public.
During this time I had certain restrictions, such as the food I ate
and whom I was around, due to the fact that I was very susceptible
to infection. After 100 days I was able to eat regularly and not
wear the mask anymore.
I have now graduated from Rutgers University and have begun a career working in broadcasting.
The last time I went to the clinic for a check-up, I was told not
to come back for a year, which is a significant change from
past years. My hair has now grown past my shoulders and I feel
good, but still have to deal with a weak immune system. If it wasn't
for the National Cord Blood Program at New York Blood Center, I have
no idea what kind of shape I'd be in right now. I'm thankful for
them and all the new research being put into cord blood transplants.
|
