Life for the Bells of Hamiota is looking bright these days but, from 1995 through 1998, it was a very different story. We first introduced them to the CancerCare family through an appeal letter in the fall of 1997. We'd like to bring you up-to-date on their winning story.

In November 2001, the Manitoba Bone Marrow Transplant Program celebrated its tenth year of service to the people of this province. Wendy Bell was asked to speak about her family's experiences with the BMT program and CancerCare. The following is an adaptation of her comments.

Cancer Rings Twice

"I was diagnosed with acute myelofibrosis in February 1997. As a 31 year-old mother of three at the time, what made this doubly hard to accept was the fact that my then six year-old son, Jayson, had been undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since mid-1995.

"The onset of cancer in Jay threw our summer vacation into disarray. Within two hours of learning that our baby had cancer, my husband, Kevin, and I left our daughters with their grandparents and we hurried to Winnipeg with Jay. That was the beginning of 3 1/2 years of treatment for him. I took a year's leave from my job as a health care aide so I could spend time with my son in Winnipeg through those many courses of chemotherapy.

"This time was very hard on our family, what with the separation, the anxiety and the time that most of us spent away from home. Happily, Jay's prognosis was good and he has been cancer-free for over three years.

Wendy's Turn

"Sometime after my return to work, I began experiencing extreme leg pain and fatigue. After three weeks with no let-up, I saw my doctor in February 1997. A blood test revealed a blood count of 73, and I was immediately scheduled for a bone biopsy. The local lab couldn't pull any bone marrow, so I was sent to Brandon General Hospital. It was there that I learned that I had acute myelofibrosis - so rare that I am one of only 26 known cases. I also learned that I had only six months to live.

"Upon hearing that news, I collapsed into my husband's arms, devastated and terrified by the thought of my children growing up without a mother; wondering how Kevin would cope with the responsibility of raising three young children, one still fighting his own battle with cancer. Extended time in Winnipeg was again replace my life at home.

"Telling my children was an unimaginable task. Jenna, the eldest, didn't want to accept this news, having been through enough trauma with Jay's illness; Stacey withdrew; and Jayson asked, 'Did I give it to you, Mommy?' That broke my heart.

"The anger - 'What did I and my family do to deserve this?' - was dissipated by my family's and Kevin's support, and I gathered up the strength to fight. Once at CancerCare, Dr. Shore confirmed the diagnosis and testing of family members began to find a match. No luck. My brother was devastated to learn he would not be able to be the donor. He threw himself into research and we were encouraged to learn that Dr. Shore and her team are among the best in the world. We also learned that, of the 26 myelofibrosis cases, three of the four who received transplants from unrelated donors were still alive."

Wendy Fights Back

"I registered with the Unrelated Donor Registry. I was ecstatic when, three months later, I learned that an exact match had been found. This was the turning point for me. The 50/50 odds didn't matter. In my mind, I was going to beat all odds. Despite my optimism, I will never forget my good-byes with my children prior to leaving for Winnipeg and the transplant procedure. We hugged in what might be our last and never-ending embrace. I tried to give them hope even though, in my heart, I feared I would never see them again.

"I began a gruelling week of chemotherapy and radiation on June 9, 1997. My already low white cell count of 2.2 dropped to 0.2. The donor marrow was flown into Winnipeg on June 19th, and that night a little bag of marrow became my cushion between life and death. As the transplant began, I was full of questions: Who was this donor; male or female; had this person been affected by cancer?

"The process of recovery and healing was very painful. I sat on pins and needles each day to see if my counts had gone up. I drew much inspiration from Maureen, another bone marrow recipient. It was 34 days after my transplant that I released from hospital. The first thing I did was walk barefoot in the grass. Four months in a rented apartment with Kevin followed. He was my lifeline; he did everything for me. I can't imagine where I would have been without him. During that time, we lost Maureen and I grieved the loss of a friend and my sense of security.

"The thought of my children and my daily phone calls with them pulled me through this awful time of waiting. When I finally got to go home, it was not without setback; pneumonia took me back to Winnipeg, and I had several other complications, including graft versus host disease."

Thanks to Shore and Shrenk

I'll be forever grateful to Dr. Shore and her team but, most especially, I owe my life to Michael Shrenk, then a student at the University of Toronto. I finally got to phone him and to thank him for saving my life. His response was, 'It was no big deal.' I assured him it was. We have since become friends and, this summer, we plan to attend his wedding."

"Thanks to so many, I continue to celebrate the gift of life. It has been a long and difficult journey, but my family and I have discovered the kindness of others and our hidden strengths. It was not a journey of choice, but it's led us to a place where life is cherished every day and where the joy of family is never taken for granted. It's a wonderful place to be."

BMT is the recommended first-line treatment for diseases like chronic myeloid leukaemia and multiple myeloma, and a second-line line therapy for patients whose disease is not responding to standard treatment. Manitoba's BMT Program has evolved dramatically since its inception in March 1991. At the outset, pediatric and adult unrelated transplants were not done. Since then, the Program has grown: to include these two procedures; to purge marrow; and to harvest stem cells from peripheral blood. The Program has improved its ability to identify the optimal time to collect and transplant stem cells for best outcome and fewer procedures for the patient and donor. It is improving its ability to manage stem cell engraftment, graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease. As a result, many are now treated on an outpatient basis.

Since our first bone marrow transplant in 1991, over 800 patients have been referred for BMT assessment - 83% of those being Manitobans. Over 400 transplants have been completed, 17% being pediatric cases.