Maxine Pinson of Savannah is determined to save the life of her 23-year-old daughter--even if she has to rely on the kindness of strangers to do it.

Pinson is trying to raise $302,000 so her daughter, Celia Pinson Iskandar of Bluffton, can have a bone marrow transplant later this month at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas.

With $180,000 already secured, she is more than halfway to her goal.

Iskandar was diagnosed two years ago with mycosis fungoides, an extremely rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It is a malignancy of the white blood cells that are attracted to the skin.

Unlike many cancers and leukemia, the disease usually evolves over several years. In later stages, it attacks the organs. Skin lesions that begins as a non-specific rash thicken over time and spread to other areas of the body. Tumors form.

Iskandar has no vision in her right eye now because of tumors. And new tumors are appearing. But her mother said there is good news: a perfect match has been found for a bone marrow transplant.

Iskandar leaves today, in fact, for a four-day preliminary work-up at the Houston hospital. On July 23, she returns to Houston for a week of chemotherapy, at which time her own bone marrow will be destroyed. Then on July 29, the transplant begins. The procedure, administered intravenously and similar to a blood transfusion, takes about 30 minutes.

From the time Iskandar begins the chemotherapy, through the time the transplant is completed, she will have no immune system to protect her from infections. Consequently, she will be kept in total isolation.

After a month in the hospital, Iskandar will have to remain in the Houston area for another three months so she can be checked at regular intervals.

Iskandar's husband is Antoine, 28, an architect with William Vitto of Hilton Head Island.

Anyone interested in helping out may send a tax-deductible contribution to: Help Save One of Our Own Corp. (f/b/o Ceia Pinson Iskandar Medical Fund). Mail it to: Interstate/;Johnson Lane, 200 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401.

The fund-raising goal does not include associated expenses as the costs of housing, meals, and transportation. Any money left after Iskandar's transplant will go to another individual with the same disease and in need of the same treatment.

Updates on Iskandar's condition will be posted on the Internet. Go to www.the-innside-scoop.com and click "Celia's Site" on left navigational bar.
 

Reprinted with permission.