Update message from Kate and Mike
29 November 2025We're off to Shanghai Dec 10. Unfortunately meds/chemo haven’t worked (including the 11 $5,000 shots) I’m not able to have a stem cell transplant as my bone marrow is 80-90% myeloma. We have spoken to 5 people who've had car t in Shanghai and met with 2 of them. Car-T is a transplant thing where they take my T cells (from white blood cells), genetically engineer them in a lab to create antigens that target cancer cells and then infuse them back into me. It would be at least 7 weeks in Shanghai (around 3-4 weeks in hospital)
I’ll spend 4 nights/ 5 days at Renji hospital having tests - bloods (30 vials), lung capacity test, ultrasound, bone marrow biopsy, ECG, PET scan, and having my T cells harvested (apparently around 5 hours and I get to drink a lot of liquid calcium) Then we spend anywhere from 4 to 7 days playing tourists (while T cells are being played around with) At Li Quan hospital on day 1 get to do bloods, ECG, ultrasound of heart and a CT scan then a PICC line is put in. Then there’s 3 days of chemo followed by a day off. On day 5 my Car T cells will be infused and following that I have to stay in hospital for 2 weeks. Most people just have a light fever. 3 days after discharge I have to go back for more blood tests (this could change as I am a non- secretor so myeloma doesn’t show in my blood). Day 30 from infusion I go back to the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy. Timings can all change depending on side effects and if I need more than one car t infusion.
