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Journey to Recovery: Rachel's Story

Seventh grader Rachel Swink has spent more time in hospitals than most people would in several lifetimes. Diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma at age three, she underwent a successful autologous stem cell transplant (a procedure using her own blood). The Swink family moved to Michigan several years later from Indiana, and Rachel began receiving follow-up care at the U-M Cancer Center’s Late Effects Clinic.

Dr. Ken Cooke and Rachel

At age eight, Rachel developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), also referred to as pre-leukemia. Caused by abnormal blood-forming cells of the bone marrow, the condition required a bone marrow transplant. The transplant was performed at U-M in January 2002.

Rachel continues to receive treatment for transplant-related effects, including a mild case of graft-versus-host disease, affecting mainly her lungs and eyes. One of the physicians on Rachel’s BMT team, Dr. Kenneth Cooke, is investigating a promising treatment to improve post-transplant lung function.Under his supervision, Rachel is participating in a clinical research trial to evaluate this treatment.“It’s my passion to bring new effective treatments to the clinic,” says Cooke, one of only eight BMT investigators in the US to receive a Burroughs Wellcome Award for his research. Rachel’s mother Jenny is enthusiastic about the impact research can have on the care options available to patients like Rachel.“I’m totally sold on teaching hospitals,” she says. “I tell my friends who are facing serious health problems, you’ve got to go to U-M.”

As for Rachel’s life today, although her lung capacity is still only half the normal volume, and she receives nutrition by feeding tube at night to help maintain her weight, in most other ways Rachel is a pretty average teenager. She plays the viola in the school orchestra, takes tennis lessons and is active in her church youth group. She’s even turned her experience into “news,”writing an article about her participation in the clinical trial for her school news writing class.

“I know some people would say she has had bad luck,” says Dr. Kenneth Cooke, part of Rachel’s BMT team,“but if I were a betting man, I’d want to bring her along. She’s beating the odds.”

We wish Rachel and her family all the best as she continues to recover.

 

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