Bethany’s Story

Site created on August 18, 2021


July 23rd I was diagnosed with a rare form of acute leukemia – Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic cell Neoplasm (BPDCN). As BPDCN is rare, and typically affects men in their 70-80’s (and even in that it is rare, with 50-100 cases nationwide) my oncologist at St Luke’s Hospital (Dr. Alkaied) in Duluth sent me to the Mayo Clinic. In the beginning of August I met with De Al-kali at the Mayo Clinic. After some test including a bone marrow biopsy, & spinal tap- it was determined that my cancer was not in the bone marrow/spinal fluid or spleen (where it can sometimes present). Because it was not in my bone marrow it was determined that my treatments would be considerably shorter (1 week vs 1month in the hospital per round of chemo). This also meant that I would be able to receive my treatments in Duluth closer to my family and kids vs at the Mayo in Rochester.

In order to beat this cancer I first must get to remission and then I will need a bone marrow transplant to cure it. I currently receive aggressive and high dose chemotherapy every 21 days, which I am admitted to the hospital for 5-7 days at a time.

Newest Update

Journal entry by Bethany Mayo


It’s been awhile since my last post. I apologize. Today is day 343 since my BMT. Can’t believe we are coming up on a year! 


Dennis and I made a few trips to Rochester in the last week to complete my yearly evaluations and tests. My bone marrow biopsy came back clear and still showing that I am 100% donor cells. Transplants can fail, so this is pretty amazing that I’m still hanging on to all donor cells. 


I received a call tonight from my Dr. Letting me know that they got the PET scan results, there are a few spots that they are going to keep an eye on. Not concerning at this moment and may be just apart of Graft Vs Host Disease. Other than that, the Dr. Was very happy with the results and I am still in remission. 


My pulmonary tests came back lower than I scored last year. This is most likely from the two separate cold viruses I tested positive for last week. 


I am showing some signs of Graft vs Host Disease- its presenting as a rash on my face, dry eyes, mouth sore, severe joint pain and cramping in hands and feet. They started me on steroids, put me back onto the anti rejection meds and started a new medication, Jakafi that should hopefully show some improvements soon. I will also see a rheumatologist and ENT. 


Overall I feel pretty good. I still don’t have a lot of energy, and if I exert myself too much I pay for it. It feels good to be back to a new normal. Ish. And now that all these tests are done for a while, I can breathe a little easier and enjoy the Holidays with our little family! 


Cheers to Remission 🍻


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