Leukemia cancer recurred twice in 14 years. 49-year-old woman received a haploidentical stem cell transplant from her son and was reborn.

49-year-old Ms. Hong was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (commonly known as blood cancer) 14 years ago. She went into complete remission after chemotherapy. It relapsed three years later. She received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant from her sister. Unexpectedly, she relapsed again 10 years later. It is very rare. She received a bone marrow donation from her son this year. Her condition is now stable and she is being followed up regularly. Ms. Hong thanks her family for their support. Today, she went back to the hospital with her sister and husband to thank the medical team.

Chen Congzhi, director of the Department of Hematology and Oncology at Taichung Wing General Hospital, pointed out that acute leukemia is a malignant tumor of the hematopoietic system. It is caused by the abnormal proliferation of immature white blood cells and the crowding out of normal blood cells. About 950 to 1,000 people in Taiwan suffer from the disease every year. The causes are complex, mainly related to gene mutations and chromosomal abnormalities, and a few are related to long-term chemical substances or radiation exposure.

The recurrence of blood cancer is related to residual lesions after chemotherapy, weakened transplanted immune cells, cancer cell mutations, and patient genes. The recurrence rate is 30-40% 2 years after treatment. The longer the follow-up time, the smaller the risk of recurrence. However, recurrence after 10 years is rare, and the probability is less than 5-10%.

Ms. Hong suddenly fainted 14 years ago and was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia after repeated visits to the doctor. After receiving two rounds of chemotherapy, she was in complete remission and relapsed three years later. She received a fully matched hematopoietic stem cell transplant from her sister and was followed up on schedule. Last year, her husband felt that her face was pale, and her relatives and friends also noticed that her face was not good. She also felt dizzy after exercising. A follow-up visit confirmed that the leukemia had recurred.

In October last year, Ms. Hong discovered that she had relapsed for the second time, which made her very shocked and sad. This time, it was found that her son's bone marrow was half-matched, and he received a half-matched stem cell transplant to regenerate him.

Chen Congzhi said that common symptoms of blood cancer include insufficient red blood cells, causing paleness, dizziness, and fatigue; abnormal white blood cell function, causing persistent fever and repeated infections; low platelets, causing bruises, purple spots, and bleeding; and bone aches and swollen lymph nodes. You should seek medical treatment as soon as possible to seize the golden period of treatment.

Chung Xinhua, a personal care specialist in the Department of Hematoma, said that leukemia interrupts patients’ lives, and transplant matching and treatment details are cumbersome. In the early days after transplantation, strict prevention of infection and attention to rejection symptoms are required. At the same time, faced with the financial burden on the family, a desperate mood is often accompanied by stress reactions such as worry and insomnia. In addition to arranging treatment, personal care providers also need to refer to assisted living resources and accompany the patient through every step of treatment and physical and mental adjustment.

With the support of former director Teng Jielin and the hospital, the Department of Hematology and Oncology of Zhongrong established an official instant messaging account by a team of specialist nurses in 2023, coinciding with the lifting of the COVID-19 epidemic, to assist patients in arranging the treatment schedule of COVID-19 antiviral drugs and blood cancer target drugs, paying attention to complications, etc., so as to fight against cancer and the epidemic with peace of mind; 202 Four years after taking over from National Taiwan University Hospital, Zhongrong established the dedicated position of "Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Case Manager". In 2025, the dedicated service was officially introduced to comprehensively improve the quality of transplant care. Currently, it has cared for 59 autologous and 49 allogeneic transplant patients, and assisted more than 100 peripheral blood stem cell collections.