Teen with leukemia to receive bone marrow transplant Posted On: Sunday, Mar. 23 2008 05:40 AM By Laura Kaae
Killeen Daily Herald

After months of chemotherapy treatments and hospital stays, 14-year-old Patrick Mancuso, the Nolanville eighth-grader who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December, will receive a bone marrow transplant at a San Antonio hospital Tuesday.

Since his diagnosis, Patrick has been receiving treatment at Wilford Hall Medical Center on Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

The Mancuso family announced a search for a bone marrow match for Patrick in January.

Maj. Vinod Gidvani, the chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at Wilford Hall Medical Center and Patrick's primary physician, told the Killeen Daily Herald in mid-January that the best-case scenario would be to find a bone marrow match as quickly as possible.

A community-wide effort was launched to find a match for Patrick, including locally sponsored bone marrow drives at the Robertson Blood Center on Fort Hood and Scott & White Hospital in Temple.

Several weeks ago, a match was found, said Simone Mancuso, Patrick's mother.

"They found a match," she said. "It is a woman, and that is all we know."

The family is not allowed to have access to information about the donor yet, according to Tracy Donaho, the bone marrow coordinator for Methodist Children's Hospital, where Patrick transferred to last week. Children's Methodist has a pediatric transplant unit where the transplant will take place, she said.

Currently, Patrick is undergoing radiation therapy to deplete his system of his supply of bone marrow, before he receives a full bone marrow transplant, Donaho explained.

"The radiation will clean out his body of his marrow and make room for the new marrow," she said.

As for the family, Simone and her husband, 1st Sgt. Michael Mancuso, Alpha Troop, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, have been splitting their time between Nolanville and San Antonio as Patrick awaits his transplant.

A recuperation time of several months will follow the transplant, Donaho said.

"Patrick is doing OK," his mother said. "He just wants to get it over with and go back to being a normal kid."

Contact Laura Kaae at lkaae@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7464