Living with Graft-Versus-Host Disease

LIVING WITH GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE: HOW I STOPPED FIGHTING AND STARTED HEALING is both a personal account of Brad Buchanan's experience as a stem-cell transplant recipient and Graft-versus-Host Disease patient and a readable survey of the special challenges posed by both acute and chronic GvHD. When Brad went in for his stem-cell transplant in 2016, he had a sibling donor who was deemed a 10/10 match, and yet he developed an acute case of GvHD that nearly proved fatal, left him functionally blind for nearly two years, and dramatically altered his life circumstances. Having weathered this storm thanks to expert medical help and ECP (Extra-Corporeal Photopheresis), he has had to change his outlook on life as a cancer survivor, accept his condition as a chronic GvHD patient, and look for new ways to improve his day-to-day existence and long-term prospects. His story is both sobering and inspiring, and offers messages of warning and hope for patients, doctors, and care-givers alike.