{"id":46893,"date":"2003-07-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-07-18T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2003\/07\/18\/wisconsin-woman-recognized-as-3000th-transplant-patient-2\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:44:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:44:00","slug":"wisconsin-woman-recognized-as-3000th-transplant-patient-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2003\/07\/18\/wisconsin-woman-recognized-as-3000th-transplant-patient-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin woman recognized as 3,000th transplant patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twenty years, 3,000 transplants.<\/p>\n

It almost sounds like a new car warranty. But for the University of<\/p>\n

Nebraska Medical Center and its clinical hospital partner, The Nebraska<\/p>\n

Medical Center it represents a significant milestone in the treatment<\/p>\n

of cancer patients who come to Omaha from all over the world.<\/p>\n

On July 3, the medical center oncology\/hematology staff performed its<\/p>\n

3,000th bone marrow\/peripheral stem cell transplant.  Mary Ann Mack,<\/p>\n

a 45-year-old from Harshaw, Wis., was the recipient of a stem cell transplant.<\/p>\n

Mary Ann and her husband, Mike, were recognized Friday at a news conference<\/p>\n

at the medical center. They were joined by James Armitage, M.D., dean of<\/p>\n

the UNMC College of Medicine and the person who started the transplant<\/p>\n

program 20 years ago, and Anne Kessinger, M.D., the UNMC oncologist who<\/p>\n

pioneered the use of peripheral stem cells for transplants in lieu of traditional<\/p>\n

bone marrow transplantation.<\/p>\n

A junior high educator for the past 13 years, first as a science teacher<\/p>\n

and now as a library media specialist, Mary Ann came to UNMC for treatment<\/p>\n

of her non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She was originally diagnosed in August 2002.<\/p>\n

However, after receiving eight cycles of chemotherapy in Wisconsin, the<\/p>\n

cancer was still present. Because of the type of lymphoma that she had,<\/p>\n

Mary Ann was told that her best hope for a cure was high-dose chemotherapy<\/p>\n

treatment with a stem cell transplant. Given that, the Macks next step<\/p>\n

was to locate a cancer center to do Mary Anns transplant.<\/p>\n

We did research on other transplant centers, Mary Ann said, but everything<\/p>\n

pointed to UNMC. Other centers were doing 15 to 20 transplants a year for<\/p>\n

non-Hodgkins lymphoma, while UNMC was doing 70 to 80 a year.<\/p>\n

We had never really been to Omaha before. We rode our bikes across<\/p>\n

Nebraska about 15 years ago and had a great experience. We found the people<\/p>\n

of Nebraska just wonderful.<\/p>\n

The Macks arrived in Omaha on June 10, and the following day, Mary Ann<\/p>\n

began treatments leading to her eventual transplant. Under the direction<\/p>\n

of Julie Vose, M.D., professor and chief of the section of hematology\/oncology,<\/p>\n

UNMC department of internal medicine, Mack was to undergo an autologous<\/p>\n

stem cell transplant in which her own stem cells would be harvested and<\/p>\n

then frozen while she underwent high-dose chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

Seven bags of her frozen stem cells were thawed and then infused intravenously<\/p>\n

on July 3. Within a few days, the stem cells engrafted, giving Mack a new<\/p>\n

immune system and putting her on the road to recovery.<\/p>\n

I look at July 3 as my new birthday, Mary Ann said. Thats the day<\/p>\n

I was reborn. The Macks will return home to Wisconsin this weekend, but<\/p>\n

will come back to Omaha in October for Mary Anns 100-day checkup.<\/p>\n

Throughout her illness, Mary Ann has maintained a positive attitude.<\/p>\n

In reflecting on her transplant experience, she said she hopes that others<\/p>\n

who find themselves in a similar situation will be encouraged by her story.<\/p>\n

 The support weve received has been overwhelming — from family,<\/p>\n

friends, colleagues, church, community and the medical establishment,<\/p>\n

she said. We feel really blessed to have this support. Im honored to<\/p>\n

be the 3,000th transplant recipient.<\/p>\n

Throughout the transplant process, Mary Ann kept two inspirational messages<\/p>\n

by her side. The messages are:<\/p>\n

May you take the scars in your life and turn them into stars to shine<\/p>\n

light for others following in your path. Author Unknown<\/p>\n

The worst thing in your life can sometimes contain the seeds of the<\/p>\n

best. Cancer Survivor Day, Wisconsin, June 6, 1992.<\/p>\n

In leaving Omaha, the Macks had high praise for all the medical center<\/p>\n

staff and the cooperative care system used by transplant patients at the<\/p>\n

Lied Transplant Center.<\/p>\n

The Lied Transplant Center and cooperative care is what attracted us<\/p>\n

to Omaha, Mary Ann said. Its comforting. Everything is right here <\/p>\n

the nurses and doctors it was great. We met the nicest people at the<\/p>\n

medical center. They couldnt have been nicer.<\/p>\n

Mike (her husband) was my cooperative care partner. He was the best<\/p>\n

doctor I could have had. He checked my vitals, gave me my medications,<\/p>\n

tracked my nutrition and appointments, and best of all gave me companionship<\/p>\n

and support.<\/p>\n

After taking the past school year off to battle her cancer, Mary Ann<\/p>\n

is looking forward to returning to work for the upcoming school year.<\/p>\n

As they leave, the Macks said theyll never forget their time in Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Nebraska will always have a special place in our hearts, Mike Mack said.<\/p>\n

We think the state motto The Good Life is very appropriate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty years, 3,000 transplants. It almost sounds like a new car warranty. But for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its clinical hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center it represents a significant milestone in the treatment of cancer patients who come to Omaha from all over the world. On July 3, the medical center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nWisconsin woman recognized as 3,000th transplant patient<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Twenty years, 3,000 transplants. It almost sounds like a new car warranty. 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