Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409260004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS AND BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Yet for her that goal may be difficult to achieve.
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Miller, 29, learned earlier this year that she suffers from leukemia. For now, with medication, she's able to lead a fairly normal life, caring for 21-month-old Josh and working as a secretary at Radford University.
Odds are she'll get sick again, perhaps fatally so. The doctors can't say when - could be a year, could be 10.
Presently, her best hope is a bone marrow transplant, the procedure that restores the body's ability to produce red blood cells. Now Miller is one of thousands of Americans searching the national registry of marrow donors to find help.
"I feel like somewhere there's a donor. There's a match out there for everybody," she said.
Two organizations, the Radford Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Radford Community Hospital's Ladies Auxiliary, are planning a New River Valley benefit and marrow donor registry drive for Miller and future patients.
The event will be on a November Saturday, but the date, time and location haven't been set.
Diana Meadows, who heads the Marrow Donor Center of the Virginias, which serves Southwestern Virginia and all of West Virginia, says Miller's case and the donor drive will help to raise public awareness of the need for potential donors.
"People don't know there is a need until something happens to someone they know," Meadows said, a sentiment Miller and her family echo.
Early this year, Miller began to feel tired and sore. She thought both symptoms came from being the single parent of Josh, a blue-eyed, curly-haired bundle of energy.
Sharp abdominal pains forced her to the Radford hospital's emergency room, where tests identified the leukemia.
Restored by medication and determined to lead as normal a life as possible, Miller got back to work. She says it's better to be active, instead of preoccupied by what could happen.
"I feel that as long as you keep a positive mental attitude, you'll be OK," she said.
Her father and both her brothers have been tested to determine if they are potential marrow donors, but the results aren't back from the lab yet.
"There's a lot more involved with being a bone-marrow donor" than being a blood donor, Meadows said. "You're making a commitment."
Until a potential donor is selected as a match, the only medical test performed is the drawing of about two tablespoons of blood, which is then tissue typed. It's just like having blood work done at a doctor's office, Meadows said.
After a match is made, more blood work is done, and if the match is perfect, the donor is sent to a hospital, where marrow is drawn out of the pelvic bone with a needle.
One of the myths surrounding marrow donation "is that it really, really hurts," Meadows said. But the procedure is done under anesthesia, and donors say the pain afterward feels like a muscle pull or like landing hard on the tailbone. The soreness wears off within a week.
There are about 1,500 Southwestern VIrginians registered as bone marrow donors. The national registry has 1.3 million names.
The numbers are so small, Meadows said, because people do not know what is involved in becoming a donor.
One drawback is lack of awareness about the need. Another is the fee - $37.50 - that donors must pay to be tested and listed on the national registry.
Corporations, churches and other organizations often sponsor drives to raise money to pay for typing, Meadows said.
Paula Downs of the Red Cross' Radford Chapter said donations are being sought to reduce or eliminate the testing costs for the upcoming November drive.
In particular, Meadows said, donors are needed to provide matches for minorities or ethnic groups. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Indians are dying because of a lack of donors, she said.
Miller, a Floyd County native, says she's already received a great deal of support from her family, and has been lining up friends to attend the donor registration event.
When a match is found, she'll have to fly to Seattle to undergo an eight-week procedure, which will include either radiation treatment or chemotherapy.
That's a long time away from Josh and a long way from home. "But it's better than the alternative," Miller said. "I can take anything as long as it means I'll be around see him."
Organizations or corporations interested in learning more about the upcoming bone-marrow drive may call Diana Meadows at (703) 985-3512 or Paula Downs at 639-2140. Contributions may be made to the "National Marrow Donor Program" and mailed to the American Red Cross, Radford Chapter, 616-I First St., Radford, Va. 24141.
by CNB