Next treatment planned

So, I saw Dr Porter at U Penn this past Friday and found out my marrow was still 95% lymphs, so still in relapse (enlarging nodes also confirm this). Porter was worried that there were few if any normal cell precursors so I may also have drug- induced (from prior chemo) myelodysplasia which would explain my now year-long transfusion dependence. I may indeed be better off with transplant than CAR T-cell therapy since doing CAR with a lousy marrow makes no sense. I do have 2 matches tentatively from unrelated donor search, hooray!

The next treatment to try and clear the leukemia is to be high-dose methylprednisolone, HDMP, (a corticosteroid, NOT compounded in NE, that's for sure ;-) ) along with Rituxan, to start Jan 7, since it's 5 days of HDMP with Rituxan the first day also....should that not clear up CLL in marrow, the next step would be Campath, which may be needed anyway as preliminary consolidation before transplant.

here is link to study on my next treatment, reasonable results if only 30+ % complete remission, perhaps I'll get some good luck in 2013!

Here is a portrait of the blogger's huge nodes in neck (note trying to grow full beard since with low platelets I should keep away from razor.,,)