Tomorrow morning at 9am, Gary is scheduled to have a central line put in. This catheter will be use to deliver chemotherapy, medicine, nutrition, blood transfusions and the healthy blood stem cells. It is also used to draw blood for the frequent blood tests he needs during the transplant process. This will reduce the number of needle punctures, which is a good thing, since Gary has always been what the nurses refer to as a "hard stick".
Gary will receive a palindrome central line. The inserting of this line is done during a surgical procedure. a surgeon or radiologist will make two small incisions in his chest and thread a catheter through a large vein until it approaches his heart. The line will remain in place until his treatment is finished.
In the afternoon, Gary will receive his first Neupogen/G-CSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) shot. This medication will be given by daily injections in his belly for 3-4 four days. It will cause the bone marrow to increase the production of stem cells and move them into the circulating blood so they can be collected. On Monday, they will check to see how many of these stem cells are in the blood stream and if the right amount, they will start harvesting on Tuesday.
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