You can receive blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) through Blood and Marrow Transplant Services, P.L.L.C., a subsidiary of Texas Oncology. These services are available at three Texas locations: Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas Cancer Center at Medical City Dallas Hospital, and Texas Oncology - Amarillo.
These medical procedures are used to treat diseases once thought incurable. The main purpose of BMT is to allow patients to receive very high doses of chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation therapy.
Your bone marrow, which contains vital blood-producing stem cells, can be destroyed by high-dose chemotherapy. If your oncologist has recommended marrow transplantation in your treatment plan, a portion of your bone marrow may be withdrawn, cleansed, treated, and stored. You will be given high doses of chemotherapy to kill your cancerous cells. Then, you will intravenously receive the stored marrow to improve your immune defenses.
If your treatment plan calls for blood stem cell transplantation, stem cells will be removed from your circulating blood before treatment to protect them from injury during intensive chemotherapy. After chemotherapy is completed, the stem cells will be returned so they can reproduce "normal" marrow.