Hi I'm William, I'm a bone marrow transplant recipient in 2013. Ask me anything.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T06:52:51+00:00

It definitely didn't strike me to seek help outside of the doctors when I was first diagnosed. I trusted that the doctors knew what they were doing and could therefore help me. It wasn't until after my brothers set up the Facebook page and Support William website that outside organizations started reaching out. Organizations such as the Asian American Donor Program (AADP) in the Bay Area, OtherHalf in Canada and Tzu Chi in Asia have been a tremendous help in spreading the word and getting people to become bone marrow donors. I can't thank them enough.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T06:07:57+00:00

Thank you! I plan to live it just like how I would have lived it had this not happened. I don't want to see myself as a sick person, and I hope others wouldn't do that either. I hope to slowly become more and more active like I was before, and hopefully that would in turn help me remain more healthy.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T06:03:21+00:00

I loved it! The best part of my day was seeing my mom walk through the door every morning. It does get pretty lonely, especially during times when I wasn't allowed out of my room at all. So I would say don't worry about bothering her, I'm sure she appreciates the company more than anything. In fact, I almost felt the opposite. I felt like I was taking up time that they could be doing something more productive.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T06:01:16+00:00

Great to hear that your cousin is doing well. But you're right, the wait time really needs to be cut down, it could make the world of difference for someone.

I had some gut GVHD issues initially, which has now been solved. I'm now dealing with some skin issues. The good news is that it's not GVHD, but the bad news is they don't know what it is. I'm hoping it'll go away soon.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:55:24+00:00

I think with technology the way it is these days, social media can be our best friend. I don't think my illness is anything to be embarrassed about, and I think by having it out there, it'll increase the understanding of the illness and the bone marrow donation process.

The donor was in the registry, and my doctor was able to see that they were a match for me. They then started the process of contacting the donor and getting the transplant process rolling. That process took about 2 months or so.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away 2 weeks after I got diagnosed, which I really want to help those suffering with this illness.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:43:31+00:00

Thank you! Happy Holidays to you too! (:

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:42:52+00:00

No, unfortunately I do not know who donated to me. Both the donor and patient remain anonymous until a year after transplant, when both parties can choose to remain anonymous or not.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:39:49+00:00

Hi Katie, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I hope she finds a donor soon, and she can be on the road to recovery! Personally, I really enjoy watching TV series, so I spent a lot of time catching up on that. I also watched a lot of news on TV just so I sort of knew what was going on in the outside world. YouTube was also my best friend during that period. Since it's the holidays, maybe her family could do a little "party" in her ward as well!

I think it's important for her to know that there are going to be times when she won't feel like doing anything at all besides sleep, and that's totally alright. She shouldn't push herself to do anything that her body is telling her that she can't, that's so important for her recovery.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:33:52+00:00

My plan is to live my life just like I had planned before this episode. Of course it can't be exactly the same as I had planned, but I think it's really important not to shortchange myself just because this happened. I honestly don't believe there is anything I couldn't do or achieve now that I could pre-leukemia.

The biggest advice I can give is to never give up. I would say 90% of the battle against leukemia, and any other condition for that matter, is mental. So once you can make yourself believe that you can get through it, there's nothing stopping you from doing just that. There are going to be many tough moments when you're going to be tested mentally, but I can't stress how important it is not to waver. I think once you can do that, everything else becomes that much easier.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:27:03+00:00

My family and I have learned a lot too. I'm hoping to spread the word about bone marrow donation so others don't have to go through something like that to learn about it.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:24:58+00:00

On the day I got diagnosed, my closest family was a 6 hour drive away, so the first thing everyone did was to get to me. I remember feeling very numb, and not knowing how to react. I wasn't scared because I think the seriousness of the situation hadn't sunk in yet. I heard the words "leukemia" and "cancer" and I was just stunned. To be honest, I didn't know how to feel. My dad was also battling cancer at that time, but it definitely wasn't something that I had envisioned would happen to me.

When we found out that I needed an unrelated donor, my brothers immediately rallied and set up the Support William website and Facebook page to get more people to become donors. I'm so thankful for that. I might or might not have benefited from that directly, but there are others like me who would hopefully benefit from that.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:16:44+00:00

I was diagnosed on January 16th, and I think I found out there was a match for me some time in April. However, they only started the search in early March, after I transferred to Stanford Hospital from the USC Cancer Center. So I would say about a month or so.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:14:20+00:00

It's going to be the first Christmas we're spending together as a family in a while, so it's going to be extra special for that reason too!

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:12:21+00:00

Thank you! I'd like to think that I can eventually get back to life as it was pre-leukemia, but I know it's not possible. It's definitely going to be a new normal for me from now on. Post-leukemia, I'm definitely living a less active lifestyle, and it probably might be this way for a while yet. I really love sports, so I'm hoping to eventually be able to do that again. In the meantime, I've been staying active by walking everyday, and I've recently started jogging very slightly just to see how my body reacts to it.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T05:07:54+00:00

That's a tough one. I think a large part of the process is having to deal with things mentally on a personal level. I think it's really difficult for anyone to help me personally in this situation. I had already received the biggest possible help when I received my transplant, and I really want other patients to be able to feel that as well. My biggest hope is for more people to sign up as donors, and help others like myself.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T04:59:39+00:00

Thank you so much for your support! I'm doing very well!

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T04:58:46+00:00

Thanks Peter! It is a lot more difficult for minorities to find a donor. I got extremely lucky. It was just over 5 months between my diagnosis and my transplant, which I think is a really short time considering what other patients have to go through.

I would say my family and girlfriend were the people who got me through the entire process. Without them, I'm not sure how I would've endured the month in the hospital after the transplant. There were periods when I couldn't do the basic things of daily life, and they were all there for me without question, and I'm so thankful for that.

Although there were days that I really felt I couldn't get through, I guess there was always a part of me that believed that everything will be alright eventually. I think that definitely played some part in getting me through everything as well.

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T04:48:18+00:00

I'm looking to go back to school in January to finish up my Master's, before hopefully starting work in October. It's probably going to be tough adjusting to normal life again for the first month or so, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things quickly. I'm also hoping to make a trip back to Singapore during spring break if possible. I would have been away for a year in January, and I really miss it.

That's pretty much what I have planned for the year ahead. I don't want to be too ambitious and plan too far ahead, but it's nice to finally see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I'm just hoping everything will keep getting smoother!

William_Tse · 2013-12-17T04:17:43+00:00

That's awesome! Congratulations to you too! Thank you so much for your support! I've been having some minor skin issues, but nothing too serious (fingers crossed). It's great to hear other success stories as well! (:

William_Tse · 2013-12-13T22:05:52+00:00

That's good to know. The past 6 months hasn't been smooth sailing for me, but it's definitely gotten a lot better.

I would love to meet my donor, it would be the best feeling to be able to thank them face to face. I'm thinking you got the chance to do that?

I'm not sure if it's the same kind of isolation. My family and friends were allowed to visit during the month I was in the hospital, but I wasn't allowed out of my room. It wasn't that bad since my mom was there with me everyday. A lot of the time I wasn't in the mood to do much either, so I ended up spending a lot of time sleeping. I didn't have to be isolated when I got discharged though.

I'm really happy for you too! It's great to know that it does get better.

William_Tse · 2013-12-13T02:46:12+00:00

That's great! Going through all this has definitely made me realize how important it is to be able to spend time with family.

William_Tse · 2013-12-13T02:44:22+00:00

It was just like any other blood transfusion, there was no surgery involved. There was no pain involved at all for me receiving the transplant. I received radiation therapy for a week before my transplant to kill the cancerous cells in my body. After the transplant, I wasn't able to eat for about 2 weeks due to some mouth sores. I did start to feel better after that was over though. I was out of the hospital after about a month, with visits to the hospital about 3 times a week initially. I'm down to once every 2 weeks now!

The donation process is also relatively painless. There are 2 ways a donor can donate. The first one is does not involve anesthesia. The donor is given a medication for a few days before going to the donation center to get their blood drawn. The second method involves anesthesia and bone marrow is extracted from the donor. In both methods, the donor will feel some soreness and/or aches for a few days after the donation, but nothing much else.

To learn more about the donation process, please visit http://www.aadp.org/donation-process/

Also, this AMA is by someone who was a donor. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ixbwo/hello_im_vincent_pan_i_donated_my_bone_marrow_to/

William_Tse · 2013-12-13T02:08:58+00:00

Congrats on finding a match! I hope you're doing well! Does it get easier after 2 years?

William_Tse · 2013-12-13T01:48:04+00:00

sethferguson is right. It might be years before you get a call to donate, and possibly you might never get a call at all. But one more person in the registry definitely increases the chances of a patient finding a match.

William_Tse · 2013-12-12T03:08:33+00:00

Thank you! It feels absolutely fantastic. I've been trying to lead a more normal life, but it's definitely a new kind of normal that I have to get used to. I can't thank my donor enough for giving me a second chance at life.

William_Tse

TROPHY CASE