Glad to try to help out. Upon my return from Japan I will send a few choice selections.
As for giving up already, I cannot imagine facing news and having it turn even worse. Would he be amenable to counseling?
A relative of mine went through this.
Flowers are out; suppresssed immune system.
Books and CDs are fine, but bring in a few at time; hospital rooms don’t have a lot of storage space.
But the absolute bestest gift you can give? Plasma. Donate regularly and visit your friend everytime.
And, yes, sign up as a marrow donor. Host a drive at your school or work.
[hijack]
Some Marrow Donor Facts:
Only immediate family are more likely to be a match than people in the general population, so if a sibling or parent doesn’t match, you’re as likely a candidate as anyone.
A person of a similar ethnic mix is much more likely to match. There is a great need for donors from certain ethnic strains [Jews, Armenians, Native American Indians, African-American, Asian-American].
They DON’T DRILL your bones! [preach it].
A quote from a donor “I’ve hurt myself worse walking into a desk”.
OK, that does hurt, but not enough to keep you from saving a life, does it?
If you are afraid of needles, don’t worry, tissue typing is usually done by mouth swabs now. If you are lucky enough to match, they take very good care of you during the donation; you don’t see or feel a thing.
You will never have another opportunity to save a life so easily.
[/hijack]
Br’er, if you, or anyone else, is interested in marrow donation, or setting up a drive, I’ll share what I know.
Yeah, but I heard they drill your bones.
( Sorry. Had to. It’s in the rules. )
Here’s the National Bone Marrow Registry.
Read. Ponder. Sign up. I did about 20 years ago.
Cartooniverse, I sent you my address in an email for when you get back from Japan.
I’m sure the hospital has the resources to provide counseling for these kind of situations. I’ll have to suggest that my friend/his brother (who, as it happens, could seriously use some himself, but sadly lacks health insurance) ask him about it.
I’ve actually always wanted to join a bone marrow registry, but I’ve never been able to afford the fee they charge. Although looking at the linked site, I see it’s only $52 for an at-home kit, which is less than I remembered it being. In a week or two or three, I’ll be receiving a pretty decent amount of cash (leftover money I was granted from federal student aid after my classes were paid for) and while I probably can’t really afford to spend money on things that aren’t necessities, I think I’ll splurge and order the kit anyway.
What role does plasma play in treating leukemia?
They never let me donate whole blood because I’m too forgetful/lazy/disinterested/something to control my anemia, but for some reason I have the idea in my head that when you donate plasma, the plasma is extracted and everything else circulates back into your body. Is this the case? Would anemia otherwise cause a problem with donating plasma? If not, I’ll definitely look into it. Or, if it would, I suppose I could do what any reasonable human being would do anyway, and actually take my iron supplements like I’m supposed to…
Thanks again, all.
I’ll try to answer some questions, but don’t take this as gospel.
Plasma supports the immune response in recipients, a very good thing for people undergoing chemotherapy.
Yes, they give you back your red-blood cells, so you can donate a lot. A quick scan doesn’t show anemia as a prohibiting condition, but, damn it, start taking your iron supplements anyhow.
There are plenty of ways to get around the typing fees.
What state are you in? Health insurance laws are state laws, with some exceptions. In Massachusetts, for example, insurance must cover tissue typing.
If you donate plasma, they tissue-type your plasma, so hospital donation centers might help you register as a tissue donor for free with your plasma typing.
If you are of certain ethnicitites, some places will type you for free. [See my previous post.]
If you have no other option, use Gift of Life; they will send you a donor mouth swab kit for $36 [tax deductible]. http://www.giftoflife.org/donors/10.html
They also run on-site drives: http://www.giftoflife.org/donors/47.asp
If money is an issue, call and ask if they are ‘fully funded’ drives.
Now, this next site is NOT not-for-profit, but anyone can list a drive there; there may be a full funded drive coming up soon.
http://www.bonemarrowtest.com/patient_services/calendar_of_drives/index.asp?ID=0
One more thing: if you are in school, you should really look into hosting a drive.
Again, if you don’t mind mentioning what state you are in, I’ll see if I have any references/resources to help.
SSSHHH!!!
The correct answer to ‘How do they get the marrow?’, is ‘Usually under a local anesthetic.’
And, no, they don’t ‘drill’ your bones.
Cartooniverse, have you donated yet? [I haven’t]
We need more actual donors to step up and talk about it; the typical response to ‘Does it hurt?’ is ‘It was worth it.’
Yeah, that’s gonna get people lining up to register.
That my friend is a powerful sentence.
Thank you.
Use it.
Nope. Never made a match. From what I understand, it’s akin to boring a core sample into ice. Yes? Hey, whatever they gotta do.
Personally I’m a big believer in this type of thing. For years I did apheresis donation anonymously. ( This is the platelet donation being discussed here. ) At the time it was about a 3 hour time commitment with both arms lashed down. Tough to scratch yer nose. 
Now apparently they use a two-channeled needle and have it down to 90 minutes. Ahhh, progress. I donated for those who had nobody to donate for them.
I’d do marrow donation in a heartbeat. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on the Boards, I’ve know folks who have died of leukemia who have just burned through hundreds of pints of platelets.
Give when you can. It is a part of being a member of the human race, IMHO.
NO! [I thought you were joking].
I guess I should address this point.
Only people afraid of needles will be both by this description.
It’s just like donating blood, but the needle is a bit bigger, and it goes a bit deeper, and you can’t watch without a mirror, and they usually give you a local.
Advice from a Chosen donor for the needle-phobic: ‘Well, if it bothers you, you shouldn’t watch.’
They stick a big ole needle in your butt, into your hip bone, and suck out the marrow.
They really will hook up a mirror if you want to watch.
I’m sure they mean well, but I would decline the mirror, as I don’t want to watch them suck bone marrow out of Cartooniverse’s butt.
Wimp.
" The Marrowful Ass ". Sounds like a Miss Marple story, no?
Sounds more Ellis Peters, Brother Cadfael, to me.