8 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - "I was getting really, really tired."
Victor Chavez of Rancho Cordova workers in the construction industry for years. Six years ago he started having trouble on the job. "He said, "It happened little by little. Sometimes I would work for three minutes and I had to sit down."
He thought the problem would go away on its own so he didn't go to the doctor for another five years. Eventually he lost about 70 pounds and became even more fatigued.
Last year he was diagnosed with leukemia. "I'm thinking I'm going to die in the next few days. That was my fear," recalled Chavez.
He went to doctors at the Sutter Cancer Center. They decided he needed to be treated with chemotherapy. He said, "Right now, I feel well. I'm just hoping I can find my match for a transplant."
Six months ago, doctors put Chavez on the list for a blood stem cell transplant. He soon found a match, but a day before the transplant, the donor backed out. Now he's back at the center for a Marrowthon, an effort to register more potential donors for bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants.
So far, none of Chavez' relatives have proved to be a match. But nine relatives including his wife are with him to get on the donor list.
His son, William Roque, is signing up too. He knows only seven percent of some 7 million potential donors on the national transplant registry are Latino. "Minorities need to be informed," Roque said. "I did a lot of research when my dad got sick. I used to think that (a blood stem cell transplant) meant you're going under the knife, but that's not the situation at all. It's just like you're going to donate blood."
Potential donors simply swab their cheeks with large Q-tips so technicians can "tissue type" their cells.
Chavez doctor, Michael Carroll, M.D., puts his name on the list. "I know I won't be a match for Victor, but I might help somebody else," Carroll said.
The doctor has watched transplants change over the years. "Some people still elect to do bone marrow transplants instead of blood transplants. Marrow transplants require about one hour of general anesthesia. After the procedure they can be some achiness in the back but it's really not a severe problem. People are back at work the next day."
Mostly Chavez will need an unrelated donor for his transplant. But he tells everyone he knows to sign up to be a potential donor. "Maybe they can save somebody's life," Chavez said. "Somebody like me!"
News10/KXTV
