At 45 anniversary of City of Hope’s bone marrow transplant (BMT) program, Latino student Julián Castañeda —now from 20 years— he had the opportunity to meet his donor, the young German Johannes Eppel, virtually, and thank him for being an essential part of saving his life.
The BMT program has performed more than 16, 000 transplants, making it one of the largest and most successful projects in the nation. In California, for example, it performs more than 700 transplants each year.
In addition to being one of the first institutions to perform BMT on older adults, City of Hope had one of the first programs to demonstrate that bone marrow transplants could be performed safely for patients with HIV.
A second chance to live
Julián Castañeda was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL ) When I had 10 years old.
For three and a half years, he underwent intermittent chemotherapy sessions that helped him . For two years he was in remission, which is when the cancer symptoms disappear. He and his family were relieved to be over that experience.
Time passed, and when he was in his second year of high school, Julián was focused on the track. In athletics, her goal was to run a mile in less than five minutes. He also planned to attend two camps that summer that would help him prepare for college.
However, in March of 2017 -to your 16 years- Julian received the news that the leukemia had returned.
The young man returned to chemotherapy for a few months, but the cancer continued to spread. “It was heartbreaking. At that moment I knew that all my plans were fading, ”Julián recalled.
I was going to need a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, commonly known as a bone marrow transplant. bone or BMT, so that his cancer would go back into remission.
“I thought that if the transplant was good for him, there was a second chance to live, ”said the young man’s mother Erica Palacios, who lives in Bakersfield. “Not everyone has that opportunity.”
Julian was determined to get his life back and this was made possible by Johannes Eppler, a young man from 27 years old from Breisach, Germany, who joined the bone marrow donor registry through DKMS – an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other problems of this liquid tissue, for what you are looking for bone marrow donors. Currently has more than 10 million people registered.
Julián received a bone marrow transplant on August 2, 2017, which put the cancer into remission.
“He has a big heart,” said the mother regarding Eppler. “Is an angel. Saved my son. I am grateful that people are willing ”
When given the opportunity to meet him in person, Julián said he was“ excited but also nervous. ”
“I’m thankful; I want to talk to him and know who he is. Yes, I know it’s from Germany, but that’s it. ”
Help string
Julian, who grew up in Bakersfield, California, now has 20 years and is third-year student at California State University Northridge (CSUN) where he studies administration.
Grateful with life and with his donor, he decided to open the Foundation Bags of Love —a non-profit organization that distributes care packages to young cancer patients undergoing treatment.
“So far we have provided $ 11, 10 in scholarships to cancer survivors ”, he told Real America News. “I wanted to make a difference in the community and bring hope to those who need it most.”
For his part, City of Hope doctor Joseph Rosenthal who treated Julián during his illness, he says that to the thousands of patients he has treated he says: “If you go through the highway 210, which is the path near our hospital, you look around and say it looks familiar but you don’t remember why, so you can leave the past behind. ”
“You can leave behind leukemia, lymphoma, transplantation, the complication of transplantation and move on with your life… That is our best reward and I think Julián is very close to achieving it. ”.
Celebrate life
Fullerton resident and retired teacher Dona Garrish also virtually met her donor: Michael Fischer, from 35 years and resident of Wölkau, Germany.
The woman, from 80 years, he managed to receive his transplant on 22 March 2017, then various delays due to infections and other complications that prevented her from continuing treatment. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer that begins within the bone marrow.
“He [Fischer] is like my Gift from God; my angel on Earth, ”he said. “Without knowing him, he encouraged me to fight harder and not be discouraged, as one day I would meet him and be able to thank him,” added Garrish, who was treated at City of Hope.
Patients with childhood leukemia have 90% chance of being cured
Leukemia is a type of cancer that begins in the bone marrow – a soft tissue that is inside the bones and that is where blood cells are formed.
“Blood cells are made in the bone marrow and, when they mature, they begin to circulate in the blood,” he told The
.
“Julián had acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the bone marrow”. Lymphoid cells are a group of white blood cells that are involved in protecting the body.
He added that patients generally have progressive weakness and ups and downs in terms of feeling of discomfort and well-being, as well as fever and other symptoms of deterioration in health.
Explains that when abnormal lymphoid cells begin to grow, they take the instead of other cells that replace normal red and white blood cells, so the patient begins to have low platelets, low red blood cells and even low hemoglobin.
“The patient has weakness due to anemia, with a rash from bleeding in the skin and bone pain, because the bone cells expand and exert pressure on the bone and joints … It is very painful for patients ”Explained Dr. Rosenthal.
The expert, recognized worldwide for his skills in treatment, research and c ompassion of pediatric cancer patients, stated that currently the survival chances of people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have increased by 90% in the last 70 years.
In fact, he mentioned that around 1 in 700 adults in the U.S. are survivors of childhood cancer, particularly leukemia.
Chances are good, but there is a 10% where chemotherapy is more difficult, returns [el cáncer] and the result of the patient is still quite low, ”he said.
In the particular case of Julián Castañeda, he recalled that he had several challenging situations and the first was to put the leukemia under control – what was achieved. So far he has not returned to the hospital since he received the bone marrow donation from the German Johannes Eppler.
The second challenge was dealing with one of the most common side effects: a condition called graft versus host disease (GVHD) that can be fatal.
GVHD can occur after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant in which someone receives bone marrow tissue or cells from a donor as the new transplanted cells take into the body of the receptor as foreign and when this happens, cells attack the receptor’s body.
“We have an important role in our practice to try to control this phenomenon, as much as we can, ”said Dr. Rosenthal.
The third challenge was, that due to the leukemia and the treatment, Julian’s immune system was lowered . As a result, he suffered several serious infections in the early part of the transplant. However, now his imminological system is working very well, like any normal person.
Called to ‘ Samaritans’ Latinos
Knowing that it is less complicated to find bone marrow donors in northern European countries, as opposed to Africa, Asia or Latin America, Dr. Rosenthal said that, “fortunately” there are more than 10 millions of people registered in the National Program of Marrow Donors.
“You know, the ‘Good Samaritan’ who says, I am willing to donate bone marrow, if they find me and match a patient who need it, “he said.
” We need more donors and more good Samaritans, minorities, all colo res and all branches. ”
Specifically, the oncology expert said that in the case of Julián Castaneda,“ he was lucky to have a donor from Germany; but there are other patients who do not have the same opportunity. ”
“ If you have in your heart that you want to help someone, donate. You will not only save the life of the patient or a young person, you will help [que permanezca con] their family, with their parents, with their grandparents, with their siblings … Or for a child to stay with their parents, if the patient is a adult, “he added.
” For you [donante], it will be only a relatively mild annoyance, so I encourage Latinos to join to the national bone marrow donor program ”, he stated.