UK HealthCare

UK's Hematology Program Celebrates 30th Anniversary

of

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2012) — The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center's Hematology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Program celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first bone marrow transplant this past weekend with a special reception for former patients.

More than 300 guests, including patients, friends, and family, attended the event to celebrate with the staff. Dr. John Thompson, director of research at the VA Hospital and former UK College of Medicine chair of internal medicine, spoke briefly to the crowd about his drive to begin the BMT Program and his early work in transplantation before handing the floor over to the featured presentation.

The 70 former patients in attendance were featured in a special slideshow that included their names, the length of time since their transplant, pictures, and inspirational quotes. Three patients were given the opportunity to stand up and offer a few words of inspiration during the presentation, including 34-year-old Danny Cantley, who came to UK for a bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 1988. Cantley says the procedure was still considered "experimental" at the time, and his case was risky.

"A lot of hospitals wouldn't even accept me," Cantley said.

Cantley's father was his donor, though he was not a perfect match. Now 24 years out from the bone marrow transplant, Cantley says he is healthy and eager to visit Lexington again on better terms.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said of choosing to attend the event. "I wanted to bring my wife down and show her what I'd been through."

For other patients, it was a chance to meet others who have shared similar experiences, and to offer encouragement for those who have recently undergone transplantation for a blood disease.

"I'm here to give inspiration, even though I'm only 10 years out," said 41-year-old Justin Sorenson of Paris, Ky., who was transplanted for acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia in 2002. "If you keep fighting, you can have a long life."

Bone marrow transplantation is often the best course of treatment for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. The procedure replaces damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy stem cells harvested from a donor. Before the transplantation, patients are given chemotherapy and/or radiation to kill off all cancer cells, which also kills off healthy bone marrow. The patient then receives the harvested stem cells, which travel to the bone marrow and begin to produce new, healthy blood cells.

"Bone marrow transplantation is not an easy procedure for the patient to undergo, but these survivors are living proof that it is an effective treatment and we are all so thrilled to be able to honor them," said Jennifer Christian, program administrator for Markey's Hematology & Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program. "It also drives home the importance of bone marrow donation — without a successful donor match, many of these patients would not be here celebrating today."

Though some patients receive bone marrow from family members, many receive the donation from a stranger. Be The Match®, which helps patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases who need a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant, operates the registry of more than 10 million potential volunteer donors and 165,000 publicly donated cord blood units. Over the past 25 years, Be The Match has made more than 50,000 transplants possible.

To join the national Be The Match Registry as a potential marrow donor, people need to meet age and health guidelines and be ready, willing and available to donate to any patient in need. Registration involves completing a health history form and giving a swab of cheek cells. Visit BeTheMatch.org for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT: Allison Perry, (859) 323-2399 or allison.perry@uky.edu.