BJ Frank BJ's Journey

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

In March of 2021, BJ was diagnosed with Primary Gamma Delta Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma (an exceptionally rare, aggressive, and chemo resistant lymphoma).  This was an incidental finding in January, at the National Institute of Health (NIH), as BJ has participated in a medical study for several years, examining the cardiovascular health of patients with psoriasis.  A routine PET scan revealed several lesions in BJ's body, and we began to investigate further.  NIH deemed the lesions to be lymphoma, and BJ was quickly referred to a specialist at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.  Due to the rarity of BJ's lymphoma, and differing opinions of diagnosis between NIH and UPenn, we found ourselves flying to the west coast to meet with a team of specialists at Stanford University Hospital to confirm the diagnosis of Primary Gamma Delta Cutaneous Lymphoma.  BJ pursued oncology and chemotherapy treatment locally at Penn for months (by traveling three hours each direction, weekly, to receive chemo and meet with his oncologist in Philadelphia).

  In the first meeting with BJ's oncologist at Penn, we learned that BJ would "more than likely need an allogenic stem cell transplant in his near future".  We utilized both medical teams (U Penn and Stanford) to consult during BJ's chemotherapy treatment, and decided that the Stanford Multidisciplinary team would lead the stem cell transplant.   We learned in early December that it was time to move toward an allogenic stem cells transplant.  Since then, we have temporarily relocated our family to the west coast (with the incredible generosity of our family and friends) and here we are.  

  We find ourselves filled with gratitude for the loving acts of support from family and friends.  Thankful for early detection, modern medicine, medical miracles, for God and his goodness toward our family during this exceptionally challenging season.  We see God's goodness and provision every step of the way in this difficult journey.  It is our greatest hope that people would come to know God's goodness through our journey.  We are so grateful for the opportunities and blessings he has graciously given to our family.  We pray for his (and your) continued support for our family as we walk through this challenging season.  We are so thankful to all  of our friends and family for their never-ending support and love.  

***We will keep medical updates in our journal entries.  BJ's transplant schedule will be detailed in our second journal entry.