The last two days Shane has had some red patches on his skin. It started on his chest, the progressed onto his face, and by the time I left last night, it was down his arms. The nurses thought it might have been a reaction from one of his anti-biotics called Red-Man's syndrome.
By the time I saw Shane today his rash covered him from head to toe, and his eyes and lips were swollen. It wasn't a pretty sight. He was a little itchy from it, but it didn't bother him much otherwise.
The Doctors took one look at him today and knew instantly what it was. So they did a skin biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, and started him on steroids to reduce it.
GVHD this early is unusual, but not unseen. In a way it is good because they aim to have some GVHD as this is also a sign of Graft vs Malignancy. It shows us an active immune system. Actually, it started where there were some small warts on Shane's arm (left overs from his earlier round of chemo), which may mean that the warts helped it happen.
Hyper-acute means it has happened before they would expect the "acute" (up to three months) symptoms to occur.
The other positive is that it occurred on his skin. There are many different ways GVHD can manifest itself. It can attack all different organs. The skin is the best organ for it to attack because it is obvious instantly, and can be treated early. Other organs such as liver, and bowels, are very risky as it is caught way too late.
The Doctors also believe these chronic temperatures are a result of GVHD. So hopefully the treatment will also reduce these. Investigations into causes of Shane's temperatures have revealed nothing concrete, which is such a relief.
I have attached some pics, but I will add a warning that some viewers may find this disturbing.
My apologies for the late post! I had a night off from the hospital to see a movie with my Mum and Sister. It was so nice to do something normal since its been two weeks of being there every night.
xx
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