Columbus, OH,
15
April
2022
|
18:02 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

10TV: Columbus Man To Be One of First To Receive Transplant via New OhioHealth Program

OhioHealth opened its new Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) clinic in early April. Right now, patients in the clinic are preparing for upcoming transplants and later this fall, the health system will began the process of providing transplants to patients. 

One of those first transplant patients will be Marc Howard, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last year.  The 52-year-old  from Gahanna had never really had any health issues before.  Now he is undergoing weekly chemotherapy sessions  and taking medication every day.

“I don’t want to be the woe is me,” Marc told 10TV reporter Brittany Bailey. “I want to be the success story for somebody, for the world to look at, like, that man went through a situation, and he made it.”

Sonia Grant is Marc's partner and has been with him every step of the way.

“If you’re not up to the challenge, I will help you get there, I will,” Sonia told 10TV “Because failure is just not a thing when it comes to fighting something like cancer. You gotta fight, you just gotta fight.”

Helping the couple in that fight is Yvonne Efebera, MD, medical director of the OhioHealth Blood and Marrow Transplant program.

“BMT, blood and marrow transplant, is a process where, certain diseases require this, where non-functioning, deficient bone marrow or cancer cells are eliminated by giving high-dose chemotherapy, with or without radiation, and then replaced by new, healthy cells,” Dr. Efebera told 10TV.

Later this fall, Marc will receive an autologous transplant, meaning they will use his own healthy stem cells.  

“It’s a battle,” Marc told 10TV. “We’re halfway through the battle, and so, we’re going to get all the way to the end of the battle. Bruised, not broken. But we’re in the battle. But we’re going to get through it.”

To see the full story from 10TV, click on the logo below.  For more information about the OhioHealth Blood and Marrow Transplant program, click here

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