The Official Site of THE DENNIS OZER FAN CLUB

A Letter to Family and Friends

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues:
As most of you know by now, Dennis was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) arising from a background of Myelodysplaisia Syndrome (MDS) on August 20th, 2004. At the risk of getting overly technical, Myelodysplasia is a disorder of the bone marrow that affects the body’s ability to produce healthy, mature red blood cells, white bloods cells and platelets. These are the essential components of blood that work to keep our bodies oxygenated, protecting us against infection and clotting our blood when we are injured and bleeding. Leukemia, a form of cancer that affects the blood cells and bone marrow, is the result of the underlying bone marrow condition. For more information on both diseases, please click on the links icon above. They will answer and provide precise information to many of the questions you may have.

If left untreated, Dennis’ condition would be fatal in short order. This necessitates immediate aggressive action in the form of chemotherapy and/or a stem cell transplant (also known as a bone marrow transplant). Because Dennis’ Leukemia developed from the MDS, chemotherapy alone will not provide a cure. Only a new immune system, in the form of a stem cell transplant (SCT) will offer the hope of a complete remission and recovery. Rather than go into too much detail about the process of SCT, please click on the links referring to SCT to find out more detailed information.

In order to proceed with the SCT, Dennis needs to find a donor whose tissue type or HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) type most closely matches his own. HLA type is inherited from your parents the same way you inherit eye or hair color. Just as siblings can inherit similar features from their parents (my two boys each have one dimple like mine), they can also inherit the same HLA type. The goal is to find a donor whose HLA most closely matches Dennis, so he will be less likely to have complications after the transplant. His sibling is the best avenue to a successful transplant. Click on the link to learn more about HLA typing and the bone marrow/stem cell donation process.

As of 8/26/04, we are waiting for the HLA results for Dennis’ brother Jay who lives in Oregon. There is a 1 in 4 chance that Jay will be a match. If he is, he will be flown to Boston immediately to begin the donation process. If Jay is a match (and because there is only a 30% chance that traditional chemotherapy will put Dennis’ Leukemia into remission), our Dana Farber doctors will decide to forego this routine chemotherapy and will move directly to the transplant. I have also been tissue typed to determine whether our children, Adam and Jakob, might be possible donors if Jay is not (don’t ask why they typed me instead of the kids directly; I still don’t quite get this one but trust what our doctors tell us!) The chances are slim that they will be a match but are still slightly higher than an unrelated donor. We should know by the end of next week if Jay is a match and will update the website as soon as we know!

Simultaneously, Dana Farber has initiated a search of the worldwide Bone Marrow Donor Network, a database of people already typed and willing to move forward as a donor if called. Finding an unrelated donor can be a much lengthier process, often upward of 2-3 months for a variety of reasons. If we do need to wait for an unrelated donor, Dennis’ doctors will probably attempt a round of traditional chemotherapy in the hopes of bucking the odds and putting him into remission until a donor is located. If we move directly to the transplant, we anticipate a hospital stay of 4-6 weeks. If Dennis does go through traditional chemotherapy in addition to the transplant, his hospital stay would be closer to 10-12 weeks.

Many of you have expressed a desire to become part of the bone marrow donor network. Whether you are able to help Dennis directly in his battle or can touch the lives of another family who will someday face a similar challenge, I strongly urge each of you to consider becoming a donor and be a part of giving someone a new life. I have provided links to two Bone Marrow Donor Registries and will provide detailed instructions about being typed for Dennis specifically through Dana Farber if it becomes necessary to seek donors outside of the existing pool of registered donors. These links will walk you through the typing process and through the entire donation/harvesting procedure should you make this life saving commitment.

The purpose of this website is to keep you informed and up-to-date as quickly as possible as information becomes available to us. If I do not update it daily, it is only because there will be nothing new to report on that particular day. While it is never my intention to ever seem or be impersonal to you, between caring for Dennis, safeguarding my children and continuing my work, it will become impossible for me to speak to each of you individually and personally as developments occur. I ask for your understanding and respect for our precious family time as we put all of our energy, strength and resources to the one and only focus of bringing Dennis through to the other side of this difficult journey and to bring him home cured.

We are blessed and deeply fortunate to live in a city that has one of the best medical resources on this planet available to us in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and its group of world-renown doctors. Our wonderful network of friends and family involved in the medical fields have helped lead us to Dr. Richard Stone and Dr. Joseph Antin (our oncologist and stem cell transplant doctors respectively) and I thank them for all of their time and research. My husband is one of the strongest, most amazing individuals I have had the honor to know in every respect; his strength, humor and sense of honor and decency is an inspiration to me and the boys everyday (okay, I admit I’m a little biased but aren’t we all when it comes to Dennis?!). As only Dennis can put it, (sports analogy alert), “no sense even getting on the court if you don’t expect to win the game”. Dennis, Adam, Jakob and I, along with all of those who know him and love him, are fully prepared to meet this enemy at the door and beat it senseless with everything that we have. I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to keep Dennis in your thoughts and prayers everyday and to surround our children with the love and support they deserve.

Our love to you all.

Debra, Adam and Jake

e-mail Debra