Adult stem cell survivor offers another way
Catholic Spirit, July/August 2006, In Our World
By Donna Poston Williams
Correspondent
Carol Franz is on a mission. She believes God has called her to spread the word about "the miracle of adult stem cell therapy," and "the misinformation about embryonic stem cell therapy."
"To me, it's a pro-life message," Franz proclaimed. "There is hope for treating all kinds of diseases, without destroying a life."
Franz sees herself as living proof. A few years ago she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, also known as bone marrow cancer. This disease attacks and destroys the bone. Franz was shaken by this news, but trusted God would get her through the ordeal.
Starting in April of 2002 Franz noticed new aches and pains while caring for her sick mother. "My doctors attributed it to arthritis and the fact that I was lifting my mother, an Alzheimer's patient."
Nine months later, after a battery of tests and living with the excruciating pain, doctors finally figured out what was wrong.
"A simple but uncommon blood test showed an excess of protein, which led to an x-ray that revealed massive bone damage," Franz said. "It looked like someone had used my skeleton for target practice. There were all these black shadows, lesions, covering my bones. The only place they didn't show up was on my face."
The doctors told Franz that the amount of chemotherapy needed to destroy the cancer was enough to kill her. They felt her one chance at survival was a stem cell transplant.
"When do we start?" was her reply.
The regimen began with six months of chemotherapy. The next step was a final, but extremely high dose of chemo, intended to completely obliterate any remaining cancer cells. This treatment also kills the adult stem cells in the bone marrow.
"Obviously, there would be no recovery, unless I could replenish my bone marrow stem cells," Franz said. "An autologous or self-to-self adult stem cell transplant gave me back my life.
"That was May 20, 2003, my rebirth," Franz continued. "People talk about being spiritually born again. Well, I was physically born again. Because of my adult stem cell transplant, I'm alive today."
Stem cells are the foundation cells for every organ, tissue and cell in the body. They are like a blank microchip that can be programmed to perform any number of specialized tasks. Under proper conditions, stem cells will replicate themselves, and can be used to repair or replace damaged body tissue.
"But there is an important difference between adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells," Franz is quick to point out. "Adult stem cells are harvested from an adult or child, and also from an umbilical cord or placenta. No life is destroyed. However, embryonic stem cells can only be collected by ending the life of the embryo."
Franz goes on to state that "Not one single human life has ever been saved or even improved by the use of embryonic stem cell therapy and there are endless success stories involving adult stem cell treatments. Including mine."
Some would argue that the reason embryonic stem cells haven't saved a human life is because this type of therapy has never been allowed on humans.
The National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council published a joint report stating "Embryonic stem cells have demonstrated remarkable abilities…making them an important and unique tool, critical to researching regenerative therapies. But because they have only recently become available for research, and because public funding has been limited, research has been largely conducted with mouse models."
"In theory, embryonic stem cells have advantages over adult stem cells," writes Phil Coelho of Thermogenesis Corp., which provides cord blood cell processing. "They can become all the different tissues of the body and a whole life's worth of cell divisions is available to them. Adult stem cells don't have that potential."
The Catholic Church holds that the moral implications of destroying a human life override any theoretical benefits that embryonic stem cells might provide. (See article below.) "My point," Franz said, "is that adult stem cell therapy is already saving lives and isn't destroying lives in the process. I'm only one of more than 300,000 stories of survival with adult stem cell therapy. Why isn't the media shouting about these successes?"
Franz is certainly doing her part to get the word out. She's compiled stacks of research material, has sent out numerous e-mails, recorded an audio tape and is currently writing a book on the subject. Franz has even made a T-shirt that reads "Adult Stem Cell Survivor" that she wears to political rallies, sporting events, the mall, wherever there's a crowd.
"I believe God has chosen me to spread this message," Franz reflected. "And whether or not I like it, I've just learned that my job is far from over."
After three years in remission, Franz's cancer has returned. "I wish I didn't have to drink from this cup, but God has other plans for me."
Soon, Franz will repeat the high dose chemotherapy and receive her second adult stem cell transplant. "This same treatment gave me three extra years of life, with my husband, my children and my grandchildren. It gave me a chance to speak out on this important issue."
Franz remains optimistic, saying, "There must be more of this story to tell."