I have received the results from my first bone marrow aspirate (BMA) and it shows that I have no disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in my bone marrow at this time. This is great news! They said they received a good sample so that was encouraging as well.
At this time, due to no DTCs found in my first (out of a potential 7) bone marrow aspirates, I will proceed on the SURMOUNT Trial and will not transfer to the ABBY Trial. The next bone marrow aspirate will happen around July and will include some imaging to ensure there is no metastatic disease. I will be traveling back to Philadelphia to continue these trials.
Of note, the first bone marrow aspirate can have a 40% false negative result so there is always a chance it is a false negative, but only serial bone marrow aspirates will determine that. By the fourth bone marrow aspirate, false negatives decrease to only 5%. In other words, it gets more accurate the more bone marrow aspirates that you get. Having no DTCs in your bone marrow also doesn't mean you have a 0% chance of having recurrence, but it is usually a good indicator.
A bit surprising, I do still have tenderness where my bone marrow aspirate was taken. Naproxen has helped more than ibuprofen and my miracle cure, Arnicare Gel, helps as well. It does not appear to have any pockets of blood or fluid, so my guess is just the bone healing which can be delayed still due to being less than one year out of chemotherapy.
This is great news and a great start to my 41st year of life!
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