When I started this blog, truthfully, it was all about me. It was about me wanting to let you know what was going on. It was a way to not have to spend all day on the phone relating what was going on (By the way, I'm finding out from others that maybe I wasn't such a jerk after all by initially saying, "I vant to be left alone." I've heard the same from others who have since been diagnosed after me. I've told them I had the same sentiment, then I opened up the doors again and let people in.).
I remember a friend posting a comment on the blog early on about how I was putting up signposts about how to progress through the process. I hoped there was something that helped.
Here's what's going on now. Medically - zilch. Mentally - a lot of information seeking for just about anything having to do with what I experienced. I've found information about drugs, treatments, survival rates, warning signs, etc. I've even looked for pictures of NHL tumors. Crazy.
Tonight, I found this website about Bone Marrow Transplants. It's an "official" site, so feel free to explore. I signed up to be a Bone Marrow donor back when I was donating platelets. I proudly carried my official membership card in my wallet. After I was diagnosed, I had to contact the organization and let them know that I was no longer available to be a donor. But here's the good news. The horror stories you may have heard about bone marrow donations and the pain and suffering.....there's an alternative. You can also donate stem cells via peripheral blood stem cells. The information about how to do it is contained in the web site I listed earlier in this paragraph. Also on the website, is a page to sign yourself up.
The misconception having to pay to donate umbilical cord blood is also addressed on the web site ("..you could donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood to a public bank at no cost to you...The cells in cord blood are not embryonic stem cells.")
Go for it. This is about you.
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