Returning Home after Transplant

Returning home after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant can be exhilarating, but it has its challenges as well.

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If you live near your transplant center, you will be able to return to your home after being discharged from the hospital, provided it is a safe environment for you. If you live far from the transplant center, you will need to stay in temporary lodging for follow up visits at the outpatient clinic until you are well enough to return home.

Once home, your day-to-day care will be in the hands of your family caregiver. Your medical care will be turned over to your hematologist, oncologist or primary care physician.

Survivorship Care Plan

When you return to the care of your local physician, your transplant center should provide you with a personal survivorship care plan for you and your doctor to follow.

All of your healthcare providers should have a copy of the plan. The survivorship care plan should include:

  • your disease history, including stage of disease and recurrences
  • type of transplant: autologous (used your own cells) or allogeneic (used donor cells)
  • the date, type and site of any radiation you received, including any you received prior to being referred to the transplant center
  • the date, dosage and type of chemotherapy you received, including any you received prior to being referred to the transplant center
  • other medications you received while being treated for your disease that have potential long-term health consequences
  • any serious infections you developed and how they were treated
  • if you relapsed after transplant, how it was treated
  • potential late effects of each therapy you received including mental health effects
  • a list of your medications and allergies
  • a list of your vaccinations and appropriate re-vaccination schedule
  • any family history of cancer or the disease for which you were transplanted
  • recommended screenings for late effects - timing and frequency
  • contact information for healthcare personnel at your transplant center

Both you and your doctors should consult with your transplant team if complications arise that are not easily managed.

Early detection and treatment is often the key to successful management of problems after transplant, so do not hesitate to seek the expertise of your transplant team to properly manage your long-term care

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Next Page: Preparing a Safe Home

Updated August, 2023

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