ONS Connect - March 2008 - (Page 13)

Mildred Pasek, RN, OCN®, MM, says the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute performed more than 350 types of transplants in 2006. both Parran and Pasek wrestle with as current challenges in BMT. Pasek adds that, “in states such as Massachusetts, passing of state laws requiring insurers to cover research protocols create legal or political issues for financing research.” Another challenge is the financial pressure to discharge patients as early as possible. Today, “some centers perform autologous transplant outpatient, but our patients are generally discharged the day after transplant,” Parran says, “while those undergoing unrelated allogeneic transplants generally stay around a month.” Pasek says that after discharge, patients are asked to “stay in the area based on length of time to get to a local hospital for an emergency, local medical support for their kind of transplant, length of time to travel to DFCI for outpatient care (some travel several hours), and their medical condition Transplant Terminology Review Allogeneic transplant: Patient receives stem cells from a related (sibling or parent) or unrelated donor. Autologous transplant: Patient receives own stem cells. Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants: Restore stem cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation that was used to kill cancer cells before transplant. Graft-versus-host disease: White blood cells of the donor identify and attack patient’s cells. Hematopoietic stem cells: immature cells found in bone marrow, blood, or umbilical cord blood that can develop into blood cells Human leukocyte antigens (HLAs): proteins on the surface of cells. Identical twins have the same HLAs. Close relatives may share many antigens. Unrelated individuals may also match especially if of the same racial and ethnic background. As close a match as possible is desired for an allogeneic transplant to be successful. Nonmyeloablative transplant: an allogeneic transplant using less toxic doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy prior to transplant to eliminate some, but not all, of the patient’s bone marrow National Cancer Institute. (2004). Bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation: Questions and answers [Fact sheet]. Retrieved December 8, 2007, from http:// www.cancer.gov.cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant March 2008 ONS CONNECT 13 http://www.cancer.gov.cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant http://www.cancer.gov.cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - March 2008

ONS Connect - March 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In From Then to Now A Year in the Life—Month Three Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Recognize Hepatic Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome in Patients With Cancer Caregiver Care Elasticity of Cells May Help Researchers to Identify Cancer Calendar of Events ONS Congress Your Thoughts and Comments Are a Valued Decision-Making Resource Staying On Top

ONS Connect - March 2008

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