What happens to your body after a stem cell transplant?

After a transplant, it also takes time for blood cell levels to recover and for the immune system to work properly again. During this recovery period, you're at greater risk of getting infections.

What happens to your body after a stem cell transplant?

After a transplant, it also takes time for blood cell levels to recover and for the immune system to work properly again. During this recovery period, you're at greater risk of getting infections.

Stem cell

transplantation may later affect parts of the body that produce hormones, such as the thyroid, pancreas, and sex glands. They may not be able to produce the same level of hormones as before. The stem cell transplant process can be difficult both physically and mentally.

Treatment effects may include hair loss, rash, swelling, weight loss or gain, and decreased sexual desire. Full recovery from an allogeneic stem cell transplant can take several months to a year. Your healthcare provider may recommend that you stay in or near the hospital or treatment center for the first 100 days afterward. of the procedure.

It usually takes 3 to 12 months for the immune system to recover from the transplant. During this time, you're at risk of getting an infection. There are certain steps you can take to lower your chances of getting an infection. Follow the guidelines in this resource. Stem cell or bone marrow transplants are treatments for some types of cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Side effects of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant include infections, bleeding, nausea, and diarrhea. The treatment you receive as part of your stem cell transplant can affect your body in different ways, depending on the type of treatment and your physical condition. First, your healthcare provider may give you fluids and medications to help prevent side effects or reduce the chances that your body will reject new stem cells. Stem cell transplants can help cure or delay certain types of blood cancer or blood disorders that haven't responded to other types of treatment. If you're thinking about having a stem cell transplant, your healthcare provider will explain potential complications to you so you can weigh those risks and potential benefits.

When you have a stem cell transplant using someone else's stem cells, it's called an allogeneic transplant. As a late effect, people who have undergone a stem cell transplant are at greater risk of developing skin cancer in later stages of life. Doctors may also prescribe a colony-stimulating factor (CSF), such as filgrastim (Neupogen), after a stem cell transplant, to help reduce the risk of infection and speed up the process of producing new blood cells. Relationships with family and friends can be affected by the stress of having cancer and receiving a stem cell transplant for cancer.

A stem cell transplant allows you to receive high doses of chemotherapy, which damages bone marrow cells. Autologous stem cell transplants are used to treat certain types of cancer, blood disorders and diseases Autoimmune. Primary graft failure means that the transplanted stem cells have not started to produce new blood cells in the first 3 to 4 weeks after the transplant. If donor stem cells were transplanted, you'll usually also need to take medications called immunosuppressants that stop your immune system from working as effectively.

If you've been dealing with cancer or a blood disease, a stem cell transplant may be a new opportunity of life.