Jaclyn will be returning to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital for a check up with her Oncology Team on June 29-30th. In October of 2009, Jaclyn was diagnosed with PTLD,  Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder. PTLD is a combination of Mono and cancer. It is caused when the EBV, Ebstein Barr Virus, infects the B cells due to a weak immune system.  The more intense the immunosuppression used, the higher the incidence of PTLD and the earlier it occurs. Jaclyn's PTLD was very severe. She spent 27 days in the hospital, 10 were in the intensive care unit. The Oncology PTLD Specialists, Dr. T and Dr. G, took over and were able to eliminate all of her B cells with Rituximab, thereby eliminating the PTLD. 

Jaclyn had zero B cells from November 2009 until last week. They have started coming back, which everyone expected. She will be tested at LPCH/Stanford to confirm that all of her B cells are coming back healthy, NO PTLD. She has had several PET scans,  Positron emission tomography,  and no PTLD has been detected since all of her B cells were eliminated in November 2009. 

According to Wikipedia a PET scan is a nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide (tracer), which is introduced into the body on a biologically active molecule. Images of tracer concentration in 3-dimensional or 4-dimensional space (the 4th dimension being time) within the body are then reconstructed by computer analysis. In modern scanners, this reconstruction is often accomplished with the aid of a CT X-ray scan performed on the patient during the same session, in the same machine. IMO, Scary Stuff.

It has been 3 months since Jaclyn's last PET scan and we are confident that her scan will show that the PTLD has not returned and her new B cells are healthy.  I do have some anxiety about returning to the Bay Area as our experience there over the past year was an absolute NIGHTMARE. Please pray that our trip is smooth and uneventful and the PET scan shows no abnormalities and we can be back in Colorado within a couple of days.

Thank you to all of our heaven and earth angels as we never would have made it without you.

Peace, love, much happiness and good health to you and your families.

Susan, mom of Jaclyn