This young mother’s battle against cancer began 15 days after the birth of her second son when she noticed hives (rashes) on her body. Her doctor put her on anti-biotics, but that didn’t seem to help. She then noticed a lump on her neck. A CAT-scan revealed another lump in her chest. She had to undergo a biopsy, which confirmed that she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphoid tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and bone marrow. She had to undergo chemotherapy to fight her cancer. But six months later, her doctors noticed cancerous activites again. Chemotherapy had not cured her. Her demons were back.

Doctors deliberated on a stem cell transplant, an intensive procedure where stem cells are collected from the patient’s body and stored. After heavy doses of chemo, the cells are given back to the patient through a drip into a vein.Padmaja went through a stem cell transplant in December 2002. 

It seemed like Padmaja’s battle against cancer was over. “Everything was fine for a few months,” she recounts. “I went on a three month trip to India. But four months after returning from the trip, my reports confirmed a four cm. tumor in my chest.” The disease had relapsed.

Doctors now say that her only chance of a cure is a bone marrow transplant, where a donor’s stem cells are collected and transplanted into her body. Finding a perfect match is difficult. There are 26 components that need to match. The chances are higher within one’s own racial group. 

And so, Padmaja waits. And hopes. If this young mother’s story is one of her battle against odds, it is also a story of her courage and zest for life. Three years of fighting an uphill battle against cancer has not made her forget to smile. Living in Lindenhurst, Illinois with her husband and two small sons, Padmaja makes the most of her time. She drives herself around, cares for her two littles sons aged 8 and 3, and paints with passion. A commercial artist by profession, Padmaja now teaches art to children in the afternoons. Her mother and in-laws  take turns in providing her with a support system at home. Her husband and children give her the drive to go on.

“It is because of my husband and my two children that I could go through it all,” she says. “My family has helped to always think positive.”

Registering for a bone marrow transplant is easy. Every healthy individual between the ages of 18 and 60 years can register. A local blood bank will determine to see if the prospective donor is a match. The process takes only a few drops of blood at no cost.

SAMAR (South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters) is an official group of the National Marrow Donor program dedicated to the cause of recruiting potential lifesavers for the national registry. For more information, visit http://www.samarinfo.org or call toll-free 1-866-592 5854. 

If a perfect match is found, the donor will be requested to travel to the determined hospital. The entire procedure is at no cost to the donor, since the patient’s insurance pays for all his/her bills.

More information about the donation process for Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) transplant is detailed at http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/steps_of_donation.html.

Padmaja’s local community has rallied around her, organizing blood drives in Chicago and Milaukee, where close to 250 people participated. Word has also spread to her native Pune and Mumbai where friends and associations are organizing drives. But the perfect match is yet to be found.