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| TNB->Cheyenne Indian: Cheyenne woman searches for bone marrow doner |
Posted on Monday, March 28 @ 22:07:21 PST | |
AUTHOR: Susan, Olp, Gazette Staff Writer
Thirty-four-year-old Melissa Curley is relying on the kindness of strangers
in her battle against leukemia.
Chemotherapy hasn't helped the Northern Cheyenne woman defeat the
life-threatening chronic myelogenous leukemia that doctors diagnosed nearly three years
ago. So her hope now rests in a bone marrow transplant to restore her to
health.
When a person needs a bone marrow transplant, the first step normally is to
test family members.
"Melissa has seven siblings and none of them match," said Eileen Damone,
special recruitment representative for the Montana Marrow Program.
Now she is hoping a nonfamily donor will step forward and provide the bone
marrow she needs.
The single mom has six children who range in age from 2 to 16. Though ill,
she still manages to work part time at a fast-food restaurant in Lame Deer.
At one point Curley was in remission from the disease, but the cancer came
back. The medication Curley must take leaves her tired and with little energy.
Neither the disease nor the treatment has robbed her of hope, said the woman
who is trying to help Curley find a donor.
"She's very optimistic," Damone said. "She's got a lot to live for, with her
six children."
After family members proved less than a perfect match, Damone searched the
National Marrow Donor Program registry of 5 1/2 million people, but "there
wasn't a match there."
That's not unusual in the case of minority patients, Damone said. Just this
past Thursday, leukemia patient Jacqueline "Jackie" Donahue, the sister of
Grammy-winning rapper Nelly, died after a matching bone marrow donor could not be
found in the registry, Damone said.
"We can match about 90 percent of Caucasians with at least one donor," said
Damone, whose office is in Lewistown. "But it's only 40 to 60 percent for
minorities."
Damone has organized two bone marrow drives in the coming weeks to help
Curley. The first will take place Wednesday in Lame Deer, and the second will be
held April 9 in Billings.
Damone, who works under the auspices of the Inland Northwest Blood Center of
Spokane, hopes to attract people with any percentage of American Indian
descent and other people of color. Potential donors must be between the ages of 18
and 60, in good health and not excessively overweight.
The initial screening includes completing a brief medical history and giving
a small blood sample. The blood goes to a lab, where it is tissue typed, and
the results remain in a database that is researched daily by patients looking
for a match.
If a match comes up, the person will be further educated on the donation
process and undergo a physical. At that point, it will be the person's decision
whether or not to go ahead with the donation.
In the case of Curley, if a match is found, the donor will be asked to travel
to Spokane or Seattle to harvest the bone marrow. All of the donor's
expenses, including hotel, meals and medical care, are paid by the Montana Marrow
Program, Damone said.
Two procedures, one that involves general anesthesia and another that
doesn't, are used to harvest the bone marrow, she said.
"Neither way is painless," Damone said, but the result would be a new lease
on life for Curley, or maybe someone else.
"I hope anyone who is healthy will consider joining as a potential donor,"
Damone said. "Melissa puts a face on the disease, but there are many others who
also could benefit from healthy people joining in. It's very sad to see people
die for want of a donor."
Bone marrow drive
The first bone marrow donor drive will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday in the conference room of the Community Health Center in Lame Deer.
The second drive will take place during an April 9 powwow in the Fortin
Center gymnasium at Rocky Mountain College. Eileen Damone, of the Montana Marrow
Program, will be on site from noon until 10 p.m.
For information, contact Damone toll-free at (888) 748-3494.
SOURCE:
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises
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