When the handsome Swiss doctor told Lisa Korslund that she’d be “with him until Christmas,” the fifty-something married mother of three quipped that she’d be more intrigued under different circumstances. Instead, Korslund tried to focus on the diagnosis that the good-looking hematologist had just delivered: Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)—a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells. The protocol for this form of cancer, explained the doctor, involved three months of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant. It was June 2010 and treatment was to begin immediately.
“I was in shock,” Korslund recalls. “I had plans and things to do. It felt like a bad dream because I really didn’t have time to have cancer.”
Korslund and her husband, both engineers working for General Mills in Switzerland,
quickly created a plan to address and treat her illness. In typical fix-it fashion, they set priorities, delegated what they could, and established a broad communication system.
“We’re both global project managers,” Korslund says. “So we did what comes naturally. Fortunately we had a strong support network.”
With equal efficiency and swiftness, the Swiss medical system transferred Korslund to a special building for patients with infectious diseases and began chemotherapy two days after her diagnosis. A transplant coordinator launched the search for a bone marrow donor.
“My room overlooked the Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva,” laughs Korslund. “But because I was in isolation, the windows didn’t open, the balcony wasn’t accessible, and I had to view any flowers that arrived through glass. It was hardly relaxing.”
As Korslund progressed through chemo, the transplant search expanded internationally. Korslund’s three siblings had been checked first, but none were a match, so the next step was to attempt to secure a donor through multiple international registries. Because she is of European descent, which comprises 75-80 percent of the world’s bone marrow donor base, Korslund was hopeful that her ethnicity would result in a quick match.
Several months later, when Korslund and her family decided to move back to Edina, she continued her treatment at Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Transplant Center assumed the transplant search and was able to locate a matching donor through an overseas registry. A transplant date was set for December 2, 2010.
“There’s such a sense of relief once a donor is identified,” Korslund says. “It gives a patient the opportunity to move forward, to achieve the best chance for remission.”
One week prior to transplant, Korslund was readmitted to Mayo Clinic for a grueling pre-transplant routine that included 48 hours of chemotherapy followed by six doses of radiation. By the time the actual transplant occurred, Korslund was exhausted. But the procedure, which only required a couple of hours to perform, proved successful. Nine months later a biopsy was clean.
While she hasn’t yet met her donor, Korslund does know something about her—she’s most likely a college student living in Europe—and the two have corresponded through letters coordinated by the Mayo transplant team. Korslund and her donor intend to meet in December 2012 when the two-year donor confidentiality arrangement expires.
“It is very humbling and inspiring to consider how giving this young woman has been,” Korslund says. “She saved my life.”
Less than a year after her diagnosis, in an effort to help others heal, Korslund organized a 5K walk around Lake Harriet that raised a record $15,000 for Be The Match. A second race in Atlanta, where her parents were living and her oldest child now attends college, generated an additional $4,000. Korslund will lead another Lake Harriet 5K walk this May and hopes to recruit 50 participants and raise another $15,000.
In the meantime she offers this advice to others facing a serious diagnosis: “Savor what you have and appreciate every day. Plan on beating the odds.”
Be The Match
Every day more than 158 Minnesotans are waiting for a bone marrow or cord blood transplant; it’s a difficult waiting game considering 70 percent of the entire population doesn’t have a matching donor in their family. To help save a life, you can support Be The Match Registry—which is headquartered in the Twin Cities—through several ways:
Register. It’s easy, quick and free. Order a kit online at marrow.org, follow the directions to swab the insides of your cheeks, and mail the kit back. If you’re later determined to be a match, you can say yes or no. If you choose to participate, you’ll be further tested before donating which is much like giving blood or platelets. While 9 million people are registered to donate life saving bone marrow to someone in need, the match between donor and recipient must be perfect. The target age for donors is 18–44 with the greatest need among minority ethnicities.
Donate. Be The Match supplies grants to uninsured families and supports research to help more patients receive transplants. Every $100 adds another member to the registry. Visit marrow.org to contribute financially.
Volunteer/Attend an event. One way to help is to join Korslund and her “MUD (Matched Unrelated Donor) Blood” team for the May 19 5K walk around Lake Harriet, beginning at 9 a.m. To register, contact Korslund. Other opportunities are listed online at marrow.org.
