Svetlana died on July 27, 2011

Hello!
My name is Svetlana, I am 30 years old and on group II disability. I am a single mother of two sons – 8 years old and 2 years and 9 months old. I got sick in November 2006, and after a blood test I was immediately diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I underwent successful treatment in Surgut for two years. I completed nine rounds of chemotherapy, but in December 2008 I had a relapse, and was given a different diagnosis – acute myeloblastic leukemia. I was administered two high-dosage chemotherapy rounds, which have to be followed only by bone marrow transplantation, and the sooner – the better, as it is not known how long the remission will last.
On March 14th I was able to gain admittance to R. Gorbacheva Center of Hematology and Transplantology in St. Petersburg. I am an only child of my parents. They were tested for compatibility with me, but none of them matched. There were also no matching donors at the international registry. Now I only have one option – haploidentical transplantation. It requires payment for two columns for the donor's stem cells separation system (CliniMACS CD34 Complete Kit with Accessories No. 177-01). Each column costs 285,600 rubles in Russia. Of course, our family does not have such an enormous amount of money.
We were recommended to apply for help at a charitable fund and not to lose hopes. There are always people who will respond and come to the rescue.
I would like to ask everyone who has such an opportunity to help us raise the necessary amount. My children really need me. They have no one else. Please help us!

I am grateful in advance to everyone who will be able to help!

Rspectfully,
Svetlana Ivshina

Epicrisis: p. 1, p. 2, p. 3, p. 4, p. 5, p. 6, p. 7, p. 8

Update as of June 3, 2009. Svetlana came to St. Petersburg. She is now undergoing planned testing prior to transplantation.

Update as of June 17, 2009. The transplantation is scheduled for June 22. Sveta had already started pre-transplantation chemotherapy.

Update as of July 23, 2009. Sveta fully recovered after transplantation and was discharged for outpatient monitoring. She now needs to take Vfend daily. A package of the drug that costs 25,000 rubles lasts her a week.

Update as of August 19, 2009 It has been 60 days since transplantation. We will soon go for testing and puncture. Currently, Sveta's condition worsened a little due to cough and runny nose, but her blood test results are normal. If puncture results are good, we may be able to go home for 1.5 months.
Sveta's mom

Update as of September 8, 2009. Svetlana recovered and felt so well that the doctors allowed her to go home for a month.

Update as of October 2, 2009. Svetlana returned to clinic with acute GVHD. She still needs Vfend at 400 mg a day.

Update as of October 27, 2009. GVHD symptoms were taken under control, and Svetlana feels well. She still needs Vfend therapy.

Update as of November 5, 2009. Sveta's condition worsened suddenly. She was hospitalized for testing.

Update as of February 20, 2010. Svetlana has been admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplantation Clinic with serious signs of skin GVH reaction. Treatment is being administered.

Update as of June 4, 2010. Svetlana is undergoing a course of photopheresis (third procedure), and has visible improvement in skin GVHD. She feels rather well.

Update as of June 10, 2010. Sveta completed eight courses of photopheresis with positive results. The blood tests showed positive antigen to aspergillosis, and Sveta was prescribed Vfend (400 mg daily). MRI of joints showed bone necrosis, but the surgery is not yet possible due to GVHD.
Sveta's mom

Update as of September 22, 2010. It has been 15 months since bone marrow transplantation. Based on control test results at R. Gorbacheva Pediatric Hematology and Transplantology Institute, Sveta is in complete remission. She underwent a course of therapy with photopheresis to treat skin GVHD, which was very helpful. Next in line is surgery to implant hip joints which were destroyed during treatment. It will likely take place at Vreden Trauma and Orthopedics Institute. Other than that Sveta feels well.

Update as of November 23, 2010, 2010. On October 27th Sveta had a hip joint implant surgery in the Vreden Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. The consultation about surgery on the second hip joint is planned for December 25th. Currently Sveta is at home, in Surgut, recovering, she is using crouches to move around. She is remission in regards to leukemia.

Update as of March 12, 2011. It has been 3 weeks since Sveta had anti-relapse chemotherapy under FLAG protocol. She is still in cytopenia so it is not yet possible to evaluate her response.

Update as of April 4, 2011. After chemotherapy under FLAG protocol, Sveta achieved remission. To strengthen result, she was infused donor's lymphocytes. She also completed a new chemotherapy cycle under an experimental protocol (in total, six cycles are planned). Svetlana is now at the rented apartment, where she is resting, recovering and receiving antibiotics and Vfend. She will need to be hospitalized for chemotherapy once a month. Sveta feels rather well.

Update as of June 25, 2011. Svetlana is still in day care. The basic disease is in remission. On May 8 she had donor lymphocytes transplanted as a relapse preventing measure. Svetlana is feeling fine.

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