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Despite progress, ill student now in line for experimental surgery

By Brian Gomez

Although Kyrene Corridor resident Frankie Valenzuela has made some headway in his search for a bone marrow transplant, he’s already bracing for the worst.

Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, the former Corona del Sol High School student found six potential matches when about 450 people gave blood last month during drives held at two Phoenix churches.

Despite the heartening results, Valenzuela’s doctors are considering an experimental procedure in which Valenzuela would be given bone marrow from an unrelated donor.

“They would take bone marrow that’s not an exact match and try to make it work,” said Valenzuela, who returned to his Chandler home upon being released from Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

“It’s really hard to keep somebody in remission with chemotherapy once they have relapsed with the type of cancer I have.”

Valenzuela is currently taking small dosages of medicine in an attempt to keep his body free from infections that could land him back in the hospital. His doctors told him it would be at least another week before test results from the potential donors are disclosed.

“I was feeling pretty good until they gave me the medicine,” Valenzuela said. “Now I’m slowing down and my stomach is all queasy.”

If further testing reveals that none of the potential donors can be used for a bone marrow transplant, Valenzuela will likely be forced to undergo the experimental procedure as his next option.

Valenzuela would have to travel to City of Hope Hospital in Duarte, Calif., commonly thought of as one of the world’s leading research and treatment centers for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Or he could go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, a renowned facility that has produced astonishing results in the survival rates of its cancer patients.

Regardless of the hospital, the procedure Valenzuela’s doctors are considering is very risky. Valenzuela could become susceptible to graft-versus-host disease, a complication in which a donor’s marrow attacks his immune system, increasing the possibility of infection.

“The experimental one is a bit tougher to get it to grip and work,” Valenzuela said. “The new blood they’re giving you will actually attack your body because it sees you as an invading predator.”

Want to help?

Interested donors may contact any United Blood Services center. The nearest one is located in Chandler at 1989 W. Elliot Road, Suite 32.

It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, call (602) 431-9500.

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com or visit him online at http://sundevils.freeyellow.com/briangomez.html.

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