Smells Like Creamed Corn

Last week, Caden received an infusion of T-cells from Jacob, his bone marrow donor. If chemotherapy gives me complicated feelings, T-cell infusions, by comparison, fill me with joy and hope.

I don’t think many people know this, but when Caden was preparing for his bone marrow transplant in the spring of 2023, he participated in a clinical trial where before Jacob’s stem cells were given to him, some of the T-cells were removed, which doctors have identified as being a direct cause of graft versus host disease (GVHD), a potentially serious complication that can happen after a bone marrow transplant. The clinical trial was aiming to see if removing some of the T-cells would decrease the risk of GVHD. Looking at Caden’s response I would say it worked for him, he never experienced GVHD. (As far as I know, the trial is still ongoing and no official findings have yet been published).

While the initial results of participating in this trial appeared positive, one thing Caden’s team noticed was that when measuring chimerisms, (the percentage of cells in Caden’s bone marrow that belong to Jacob), this number was slower to increase than is typically seen. During his first year post transplant, no one was particularly concerned. His doctors felt the slower response was expected given the T-cell depletion, but after relapsing this past October, the desire to boost Jacob’s cells really kicked in.

After Caden’s first infusion of T-cells in November, there was a slight increase in the percentage of Jacob’s cells, which was encouraging to see. Having lots of those T-cell soldiers circulating in Caden’s body is exactly what we want, because their job is to look for cells that don’t belong in his body and destroy them. Giving these infusions bring along the risk of GVHD again, albeit a much lower risk, but that’s always something we have to watch for.

The infusion in November was done with fresh cells - they were collected from Jacob in the morning and given to Caden that same evening. This time however, frozen cells were used. T-cells are frozen with a preservative called DMSO, and Caden’s medical team told us that while it is not harmful, it has a very strong odor, which can be smelled during the infusion process. They said most people claim it smells like creamed corn.

During the infusion of the T-cells, I only noticed the scent of creamed corn when I got right up next to Caden, and didn’t think much of it. When we left the appointment later that day, however, we got into my car, and I was immediately overtaken by the powerful odor of creamed corn, which seemed to be filling up every square inch of space in my sedan. While the doctors said we would smell this during the infusion, they forgot to mention that the smell would then continue to seep out of Caden’s pores.

The smell is similar to how when someone eats a ton of garlic and everyone around them can smell it, but the guilty party cannot; Caden was blissfully oblivious to the smell and no matter how many times I would ask, “Do you smell it now?!” He would say he couldn’t smell anything. The next morning, my daughter got in the car to go to school and the moment she shut the door she hollered, “Yuck! What smells in here?!”

For the next 48 hours my car continued to smell like a creamed corn factory. The entire thing was a bit ridiculous and all we could really do was roll down the windows and laugh about it. I admit there was a small part of me that was worried I would never get the smell out of my car, and I half-jokingly wondered if Seattle Children’s would reimburse me for the cost to get my car detailed. Thankfully, after a couple days, the smell finally dissipated, and I am happy to report that both Caden and my car are back to smelling as they should. On a completely unrelated note, is anyone else interested in driving Caden back home from his next DLI/creamed corn appointment?

All joking side, I am so thankful for Jacob’s matching bone marrow, and the advancements in science that allow Caden to receive regular infusions of his T-cells, which help boost his new bone marrow. We cannot ask for a better medical team, and every day I wake up with a renewed sense of hope for the future. We appreciate everyone continuing to keep Caden in their prayers for lifelong remission.