Technology, like time, marches on!

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	10.2	13-17	^
Platelets	153	140-375	^
ANC	2398	1800-8300	-

When I was practicing dentistry, it seemed like everyday there was new technology that I had to learn about. In fact, by the time I retired, a great deal of what I was taught in dental school in the late 1960s might have even been considered blasphemy by "modern" standards. And that was 21 years ago...before instant, digital x-rays and a number of other things that make me envious of today's dentists (although not envious enough to go back to practicing dentistry). 

Jill and I just had a phone consultation with Dr. Cook who heads up the bone marrow transplant (BMTx) team at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Our last meeting with Dr. Cook was about eighteen months ago. At that time, and that was the second time, she told us that OHSU had been unable to locate a suitable donor match for me. She said that the closest match they could find was 70% and that anything less than a 90% genetic match was likely to be lethal to the recipient. 

She did say that at that time they had just begun a clinical trial that involved technology to counteract the negative effects of a lesser match percentage. However, she said, the clinical trial was limited to patients under age 60. At that time, I was 76, and kind lady that Dr. Cook is, she said, "Frankly, I think I could sell you as 66, but not 59." Besides, she said, she would be unwilling to risk that the unknown results of the clinical trial could be death instead of the life-giving outcome that we desired. 

Fast forward to today. THERE HAVE BEEN NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS!! Apparently, the study yielded good results, and has now become a treatment that OHSU can offer with confidence. In addition, there is a Dr. Meyer on the transplant staff who has recently completed a sub-specialty training in geriatric (read old people) transplant therapy. Dr. Cook recommended a meeting with Dr. Meyer for evaluation to see whether she feels I would be a good candidate for BMTx. (Dr. Cook was quick to point out that she was not meaning to imply that I am old! Did I mention she is a very kind lady?)

Dr. Meyer evaluates geriatric patients for sociological, emotional and other factors, including "frailty," that can be predictors of the patients' ability to withstand the transplant process and the attendant lifestyle changes that living with a BMTx involve. I have spoken with a couple of BMTx recipients, and they both said they would do it again in a minute, although there have been some challenges along the way. 

So, after I finish this current round of consolidation chemotherapy, the plan is to schedule a meeting with Dr. Meyer, perhaps as soon as a week from today. Dr. Cook feels that meeting with Dr. Meyer will answer questions that will help us to make a final decision about transplant therapy. No mention was made during our phone call today about available donors, but I suspect that Dr. Cook's telling us about the outcome of the clinical trial suggests that no "perfect" match has been found. 

Time and technology march on, sometimes so fast that it causes a guy to feel he is falling behind and needs to retire from dental practice. Sometimes, technology marches on swiftly enough to offer new hope to old (that is geriatric) guys like me, who was told almost three years ago that I was too old for BMTx. 

Of course, for me and Jill, our real hope is in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and whatever the outcome of all of this medical falderol, we know that we are in the hands of the Great Physician, and my prayer is, 

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)