Rituxan Infusion- 4 consecutive Mondays

I thought I would give more information to you about Ron's infusion...for those of you who would like to know more about it! Niccole, Ron, and I left for AA about 7:00 AM today. His bloodwork today showed that the last week of meds have brought his skin GVHD under control. The T cells from his new bone marrow had been revved up and attacking his skin. The infusions over the next 4 Mondays should sustain his progress. Ron will also have a visit from his BMT doc and PA each Monday.
This first infusion takes 4-6 hours. It is monitored closely for any allergic reaction. This means starting it very slowly and checking BP, temp, heart rate, etc. every 15 minutes at first, then 30 minutes,and increasing gradually the flow of the med. The infusion is antibodies and called Rituxan. It will be effective for many months after the 4 week regimen and should help his skin and lungs (shortness of breath). He will also stay on a low dose of immunosuppressant but discontinue the steroid pills. (This is a good thing.) Of course, we are hopeful that this will be the balance needed to greatly minimize his graft versus host disease. We are getting closer.