Nancy Dooley

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Nancy was diagnosed in 2016 with a rare leukemia (ACML) and has been treated monthly at Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven with a lower level chemotherapy that had put her in remission for the last 2+ years.  During that time, a transplant team from Smilow was unable to find a suitable donor due to the uniqueness of her immune system.  In May of 2017 She was referred to a team at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC who have done some cutting edge work with unmatched donors.  Her transplant Dr(Schaeffer) went through the possible donors and still saw some significant risks to a transplant at that time  and it was decided that given how well Nancy had responded to the treatment she was receiving at Smilow, it was best to continue the treatment and they would continue to search for better matches. Unfortunately, Christmas Eve we were sad to hear that the therapy had run it's course and Nancy was moving into an acute phase of the disease.  Nancy was admitted to Sloan Kettering on Jan 11th for the purpose of getting an intense regimen of chemotherapy to put the leukemia back in remission and to knock down her immune system in readiness for a stem cell transplant.  Her Dr treating the leukemia thinks that she will be in hospital for approximately 35 days if all goes as planned.  He is confident this phase of the process has a high likelihood of success.


As her husband (the author of this site), i have to say that Nancy's attitude has been and is fantastic and she is extremely positive about her treatment and outcome, She has lived with this condition in the best way possible and life has been full with rich experiences with family, friends and adventures traveling, hiking and doing the things she likes doing!  Updates to follow