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The ASCT process

Outpatient stem cell collection

Stem cells are collected from the blood stream and collection takes place through an outpatient procedure called "apheresis." This procedure takes four to five hours at a time over a succession of one to three days and is conducted at St. Luke's Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic. Patients may rest, watch television, or read, and their family members and friends may accompany them.

Inpatient admission to the ASCT unit

Patients are admitted to the ASCT unit for approximately two or three weeks. The ASCT unit at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center has seven private rooms equipped with a special air filtration system that removes organisms from the air and helps decrease the risk of bacterial and fungal infections while the patient's immune system is suppressed.

Conditioning phase

During the conditioning phase, patients receive high doses of chemotherapy (and possibly radiation therapy) to destroy as many cancer cells as possible. Because chemotherapy drugs also affect some normal cells, the patient may experience such side effects as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, skin changes, and increased risk of infection and bleeding.

Radiation therapy may also be prescribed to further destroy your tumor cells. Side effects of radiation may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, skin changes, sore throat, and swollen salivary glands.

Stem cell reinfusion

The actual stem cell reinfusion takes place 1-2 days after chemotherapy has ended. This allows time for the drugs to leave the patient's system so that the transfused stem cells will not be affected.

The reinfusion takes place at the patient's bedside. The patient's own stored stem cells are reinfused by the nurse and lab technician. As the stem cells enter the patient's bloodstream, they migrate to the bones where they begin producing healthy new blood cells.

Post-transplant period

After the transplant, the patient remains in the hospital for one to two weeks until new blood cells increase in number. During this period, patients are closely monitored. 

The patient is discharged from the hospital when the transplanted stem cells are making new blood cells and the patient is free of infections.

The ASCT team works together to arrange for proper care at home. This may include providing instructions to family members, instructions on medications to take at home, and home care services.

Outpatient follow-up

For approximately three months after leaving the hospital, patients return for follow-up care to their ASCT physician's office. At these appointments, they have frequent blood tests until their blood cell numbers stabilize. After 100 days, patients return to the care of their own physician. Most ASCT patients are able to resume their normal lifestyles within a few months after discharge.

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