- Preparing For Appointments
- Contact Us
- Maps and Directions
- Clinical Trials
- Our Physicians
- Frequently Asked Questions
Events & Groups:
Join Us On Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.
Types of Treatment - Stem Cell & Bone Marrow Transplants
The Clearview Cancer Institute of Huntsville, Alabama has initiated a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (PBSCT) program to provide this treatment option to the patients of northern Alabama and south-central Tennessee. The transplant program at Oncology, PC, is one of the first 100 transplant programs in the United States to receive national accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT).
Types of Treatment
What is Stem Cell & Bone Marrow Treatment?
PBSCT may be used to treat eligible patients with leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. High-dose chemotherapy is sometimes the best way to treat certain types of cancer because high doses of anti-cancer drugs destroy more tumor cells. Unfortunately, these drugs also kill other cells in the body such as stem cells. These stem cells (formed in the bone marrow) are the "mother" cells to all other types of blood cells. If these stem cells are unable to produce adequate numbers of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets, a patient can die from infection and/or bleeding. To rescue a patient from this, stem cells are taken from the bloodstream before chemotherapy, frozen, stored, and then infused after chemotherapy is complete. Generally, after approximately seven to fourteen days the infused stem cells will begin reproducing RBCs, WBCs, and platelets, sending the patient well on the way to recovery.