I had a series of shots to open up the bones to help the stem cells out. The cells were harvested In two days, I needed 3 million, I had extra they banked. I went home for the weekend. I had another series of shots to open the bones to let the new stem cells in and I was admitted into the hospital Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Arizona. I was given melphalan in the evening. I was told my bone marrow would be destroyed and the cancer cells out of my body that night. I was given my transplant the next day about 12:00 06/02 2021. Then the wait was on and I showed signs of engraftment on day #8. I don’t remember the names of the series of shots I was given. It worked and I didn’t have a lot of complications. I’m in good remission almost 3 yrs later.

Donna, thanks for the explanation of Cytoxan. Man, I am so sorry you had to go through that and I think your advice about using this drug is helpful. Valerie, information is the key to everything related to a SCT. My doctor and Institute had a large binder and YouTube video's filled with information that explained everything and answered most of my questions. Ask your doctor for this. They better have it. Then study it closely and write down any questions you have and review it all with your doctor. A SCT is a huge medical undertaking but I had a great Institute and hospital that had an entire floor isolated just for SCT patients. Every one was great.
Again. Good luck on your journey.

So what are Cytoxan and Zarxia used for? I'm very curious. It sounds like there are different protocols for SCT. My opinion is they should not call it a SCT. The stem cells are used to regrow bone marrow after 2 very high doses of Melphalan that eradicates all of your bone marrow. The stem cell collection process should not involve any kind of therapy. Especially chemo. There is no need for it. But you will receive different types of drugs and injections prior to the collection. I received 5 days of Granix injections that is used to extract stem cells out of the bone marrow into the blood stream. It does cause serious bone pain but it did not last long.
So, that was my story and I'm always curious to know any other stories and especially more clarification on what they plan for you. What happened to Donna is just a nightmare I don't wish on anyone and I'm grateful you survived it. Valerie, I hope you have a text book SCT without any complications. Recovery after Melphalan is rough and slow but for me it was worth it.
Wishing you all the best,
Mark

Zarxia is just another brand of Granix. Most facilities don't use Cytoxan. I would of refused Cytoxan had I known what was going to happen. They were worried I wouldn't have enough stem cells without the Cytoxan. The high dose Melphalan is needed to get rid of as many myeloma cells as possible. It's not about the transplant. It's about the Melphalan eradicating as much myeloma as possible. The transplant is our rescue. Transplant actually works well for most people💕

Valeri he had low dose cyclophosphamide as part of his induction. He had a larger dose by an infusion a few days before he started stem cell collection. He had mephelan just before the stem cells were returned. He had a blood clot and his stem cell return was delayed by a few weeks. He had no problems with the cyclophosphamide at any time.