Gary Bonjour 1951 – 2008

Mom and Dad, accompanied by Uncle Randy (Dad’s brother), traveled to Chicago today for the first appointment with the doctors at Northwestern.   He will begin taking special medication and chemotherapy injections immediately to prepare his body for a tandem autologous stem cell transplant.

What in the word could that mean, you ask?  In the simplest terms, here is what it entails.  A standard weekly dose chemotherapy will be administered to begin reducing the amount of myeloma (cancer) cells in his body.   Then, his own stem cells will be harvested from his blood stream.  Following that, high dose chemotherapy will then be administered to destroy the myeloma cells (and subsequently all healthy blood cells).  Then, half the harvested stem cells will be re-introduced into the blood stream where they will travel to the bone marrow to begin building new, healthy blood cells.  After he recovers from the process, it will be repeated with the other half of the harvested stem cells.   The end goal is to put the myeloma into remission.  It will be many months before the preparation and two transplants are completed.

Why a stem cell transplant and not a bone marrow transplant?  Stem cells exist in both the blood and bone marrow.  It’s a lot simpler for the doctors and easier on the patient to collect stem cells from the blood.  Not to be confused with embryonic stem cells (harvested from the destruction of an embryo), adult stem cells are found in all multi-celled organisms (people!) and divide to become a wide range of cell types.

That’s probably enough science for today.  Thanks for your prayers and support!

 -Alicia

( P.S. We’ve disabled comments on the updates in favor of keeping them all in one spot.  If you’d like to leave a note, click the “Leave Gary a Message” link in the top of the left column.)

I will be seeing Dr. Mehta, Monday, April 30. I will be doctoring through the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is located on the campus of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. After doing some simple research on the facility, we feel good about going there. The main plus to NMH is that they perform three times the number of bone marrow transplants than U of Iowa. I also will be allowed a family member in my room at all times. Right now I just have to make it through my first consultation on Monday.

Thank you for all the prayers. They mean a lot to me. He is my shepherd and I count on Him for everything, and am in His hands. No matter what the outcome, God will get glory from it or He would not let it happen. Thank you also for your encouraging comments. It is good to see so many people turn to the Lord to encourage and not just from themselves. Many thanks and prayers back to you all.. ya all..God Bless!

-Gary

The consult at the University of Iowa for this Tuesday was cancelled due to an issue with the insurance company. The only two alternatives the insurance company is offering are two Chicago hospitals. This news is very disappointing as UI is far more convenient and familiar, with less lodging and travel costs. We are not sure if treatment in Chicago is a definite and unchangeable requirement, or if there are simply some hoops to jump through in order to be treated at Iowa.

Please pray for:

• quick resolution of insurance issues
• helpful and forthcoming insurance representatives
• clear information and options
• majority of costs to be covered by the insurance

On Tuesday morning, Gary will have his first consultation with doctors at the University of Iowa. We’ll know more details of his treatment plan after that appointment.

Yesterday, Gary was officially diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer that affects the plasma cells. To help his family communicate to everyone without having to repeat a lot of information, this blog will be updated frequently.

Gary will be having chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant at the University of Iowa soon. We’ll post more details as appointments are scheduled and we receive more information from the doctors.