Teona Nutsubidze - Bone marrow transplantation
hello, My name is Tauna Nusbidze, I am 25 years old.
I come from Georgia, Tbilisi. I graduated from medical school
I became a Medical Doctor, and also on my birthday, I got
an engagement ring. I was so happy, I couldn't believe it.
All of this was for me, in my life.
And 6 months later, I woke up in Assuta
in Intensive Care Department, and it was like a nightmare
because I couldn't move my arms or speak.
When Tauna came first to Assuta Hospital, she was critically ill
with a very aggressive type of Lymphoma, T-Cell Lymphoma.
She received a very aggressive chemotherapy, and despite this,
her disease came back – after a short time of remission.
I didn't remember what was the matter… After a while,
I understood this wasn't a nightmare: This was real life
and I was a cancer patient.
She was diagnosed with stage IV, with involvement of the
bone marrow, the liver, and later on
with central nervous system involvement.
At that point, it was clear, that the treatment that she needs
was bone marrow transplantation, in order to ensure
that she would achieve a long term remission
and maybe cured of her Lymphoma.
Less than one month ago, I had high dosage of chemotherapy
which is a procedure before the stem cell transplant.
And after one week of, like, having the poison
running through my veins, I had stem cell transplant,
autologous one, and then after two weeks I was
released from the Assuta Hospital.
Bone marrow transplantation is a complex therapy,
which allows patients with hematological cancers
to recover or to achieve a long standing remission.
In Assuta Hospital, the professors, all the medical staff
even the nurses – they know every single detail.
They know what you're supposed to eat, when you're
supposed to drink, when you're supposed to get up.
It's a very big pleasure, I think.
Unlike liver or heart transplant, which are surgical procedures,
bone marrow transplantation is merely a transfusion
a transfusion of stem cells, which are harvested from the blood.
To sum-up, everything is fine, and I'm so happy
but I don’t want to tell something like this that
everything is fine, because I'm so afraid to say it out loud.