Bon Secours St. Francis Health System

 

St. Francis Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) program is the first and only of its kind in the area and offers Upstate cancer patients and their families a leading-edge option close to home.

 

The program, accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) since 2001, provides blood and bone marrow transplantation - the preferred treatment for several types of cancers, including acute and chronic leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

 

Bone marrow transplantation involves harvesting stem cells from either the patient or a donor, treating the patient with chemotherapy and sometimes radiation before infusing the collected stem cells into the patient. The stem cells make their way to the center of the bones, where they begin to grow into new blood cells, which can take from two to four weeks.

 

St. Francis offers both autologous transplants, which use the patient's own stem cells, and alloegenic-related transplants that use stem cells from a patient's relative.

 

The BMT rooms at St. Francis are equipped with state-of-the-art air filtration systems and many other immune system safeguards for patients undergoing the intense transplantation process. Through the support of the St. Francis Foundation, patient rooms are furnished with home-like touches -- such as laptop computers and comfortable furnishings -- to help ease the strain of an extended hospital stay.