Medical word of the day :- Chimerism

My Bone Marrow Clinic checkups are monthly these days, so I was there today to discuss how it's all going and to reflect on the results of my latest scan. We are all very happy overall with my progress, but there are some things to keep an eye on:-

1) My spleen is still slightly enlarged. It is the same size as the last couple of scans, so it's good news that it's not getting bigger. I still think that this is a result of scar tissue from when it was a whopper. There is absolutely no evidence of any other enlarged lymph nodes in my body - so I am hugely encouraged by this - in fact I just gave a whoop and a holler to celebrate.

2) I have some nodules on my lungs. Possibly scar tissue (fibrosis) from recent chest infections, but the doc reckons nothing to worry about. My lung functions are completely normal and not affected.

3) Chimerism is to do with having two sets of DNA in my body - i.e. my old (pre-transplant) blood cells and the ones from my new bone marrow. Obviously I want to have none of the old lymphocytes, as they mutated and became cancerous, so I want to get rid of them - but there are some still lingering.  My lymphocyte chimerism is currently 78% new and 22% old. This is considered normal for this point in my recovery, and as the months progress I hope to see the old ones reducing and ultimately hitting zero, with the new lymphocytes completely taking over. If this doesn't adjust sufficiently, then I may have a lymphocyte top-up from my donor, just to nudge it along.

So, I look at today's visit as a very positive one. It's all good news, but a reminder that I'm still recovering and there's a lot happening inside that needs to be monitored.