Katy-area mom fights leukemia, needs transplant - Houston Chronicle
Updated 4:46 pm CST, Monday, January 16, 2017
Godâs Temple of Praise Community Church, 19929 Westfield Parkway, Katy, hosted a bone marrow registration drive Dec. 31 for Surron Stokes, who is battling leukemia. Among the screeners at the Saturday drive were Sherita Hunter, left, and Nena Johnson, both close friends of Stokes. Anyone in good general health between the ages of 18-55 can register. Visit www.dkms.org to register. less
Godâs Temple of Praise Community Church, 19929 Westfield Parkway, Katy, hosted a bone marrow registration drive Dec. 31 for Surron Stokes, who is battling leukemia. Among the screeners at the Saturday ... more
A 12-year Katy area resident, Surron Stokes, 46, recently learned that her battle with leukemia isn't over and she needs a bone marrow transplant.
In February, Jerrod, 24, the middle of her three sons, who are 20 to 25 in age, is scheduled to donate stem cells to help his mother in her fight, but he's only a 50 percent match.
"I really don't have a choice. I have to have it done," said Stokes, who successfully battled cervical/uterine cancer. "Even if I have to go with 50 percent, everything will be OK."
Between now and then, she is relying on DKMS, an international nonprofit dedicated to eradicating blood cancers, to find a closer match.
DKMS conducted a Dec. 31 bone marrow/blood stem cell registration drive at her church, God's Temple of Praise Community Church, 19929 Westfield Parkway, Katy. Other registration drives are likely, including in Chicago, where her mother Ruby Stokes lives.
Surron Stokes, who had a grandmother and aunt with cancer, initially was diagnosed on Christmas Day in 2015. After undergoing treatment, she entered remission only to learn last Thanksgiving that her leukemia had returned and her greatest chance at survival was to find a matching bone marrow donor.
She has become an advocate for people to register to become stem cell and bone marrow donors. Growing up, she said she had heard only of blood drives but never of the need for stem cells and bone marrow.
"We need more awareness, especially in the minority community," said Stokes. "Minorities do not donate. I want to use this as a time to educate. We need to educate ourselves."
"The problem is minorities are not represented in the registry," said Judith Garcia, DKMS donor recruitment coordinator. "African Americans represent about 7 percent of the registry, Hispanics 10 percent and Caucasians 61 percent. Chances are slimmer with fewer people registered. It's a numbers game. The more people on the registry, the more likely you are to find a match. We need as many people registered throughout all different cultures and backgrounds."
If Stokes receives stem cells from her son, she'll be in MD Anderson about a month. "I'm not released until I'm in the safe zone."
After her release from the hospital, she also face daily medical checks for two weeks to make sure she's doing OK.
Stokes, who has seven grandchildren, said the most painful part has been seeing how scared her family was.
"My 2-year-old is very aware of what's going on with me. She wants to help me," said Stokes. The toddler asks if Stokes is OK and if she's taken her medicine. "When my hair was gone, she didn't like the wig. She'd take it off and rub my head. Now my hair has grown back, she rubs my hair."
Stokes credits her faith in God with helping her through the treatment. "The battle is not mine. God will fight all my battles. I believe he has and still will. It has not always been easy."
Despite the hard times that included sores in her mouth and blood clots, she said, "You cannot let this overtake you. Think of happy things. Stay strong."
Walking on a treadmill to strengthen herself, Stokes said, "If you're a spiritual person read the Bible, read happy scriptures. Keep around positive people who encourage you 'yes you can'. It works. If you allow what you're going through to overtake you mentally, that's your downfall."
On one of the frequent visits to the Katy area by her mother - "without her, I don't know how I would have made it" - Stokes remembers seeing a cancer patient who was a child. "This person's child may never grow up to have children," said Stokes, and that stopped her from asking "Why me."
DKMS figures show in the United States 14,000 patients awaiting donors who stay on the registry until they are matched or they turn 61. Forty percent of patients never find a lifesaving match, Garcia said.
"Every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer," said Garcia, who notes that treatment has changed so much throughout the years. Formerly, it was just a bone marrow transplant. "You can save someone by sitting in doctor's office and giving platelets," said Garcia, which is what Stokes' son will do.
Donation of stem cells can take between four and eight hours in a doctor's office where a donor has both arms hooked up to a machine. Donors are given a medication to accelerate the production of stem cell production which may give them cold or flu-like symptoms, said Garcia. Within a week, a donor's body regenerates the stem cells it lost, she added.
Anyone in good general health who is between the ages of 18-55 can register. The process involves filling out a form, understanding the donation methods and swabbing the inside of each cheek for 30 seconds. There is no charge to register, donations help DKMS cover the $65 registration processing fee but are not required. Registrants are asked to be comfortable with donating either bone marrow or stem cells, depending upon what a patient needs. Garcia said 80 percent of the time it's stem cells. Patients younger than 3 are the more common bone marrow recipients because their bodies are more likely to accept the donation, she said.
Bone marrow donors are placed under general anesthesia and do not feel anything as a doctor extracts liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone, said Garcia. After the surgical procedure, they may experience soreness for a week or two, similar to what they'd feel if they had worked out.
"I always tell them it's a temporary feeling," said Garcia. "The feeling of saving a life is forever."
That is important to Garcia, who with a background in human resources, started with DKMS in September. Active in the community through Junior League and the Ronald McDonald House, she said working for DKMS is the right thing. "I'm helping saving lives. I think that's really rewarding."
DKMS was founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr. Peter Harf, after he lost his wife to leukemia. The nonprofit expanded in Europe and its U.S. office started in 2004 and has registered more than 800,000 people.
"Please go to the website at dkms.org and register as potential donor," said Garcia. "You never know. You could be that one person who saves a life."