By Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 2/3/05)

Moira Hall (pictured at left), a graduate from Seton School in Manassas and a parishioner at Holy Trinity in Gainesville, has been cancer-free for a year. When she was 20 years old, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer, but now it is gone. While she went through the traditional chemotherapy and radiation to remove the cancerous cells, the real cure was stem cells — not embryonic, but adult stem cells.

"We made sure that my doctor wasn’t associated with fetal stem cell research," said Moira, adding that this was an important issue for them.

According to Moira’s mother, Eileen Hall, the adult stem cells are easier to obtain, sturdier for research and providing cures. The embryonic stem cells are very fragile and hard to work with.

"Not one disease has advanced through embryonic stem cells," Eileen said. "Funds are going to embryonic when the adult cells are producing results.

"God will reward the right things," she said. "He doesn’t open the avenue to evil and reward it with answers."

When Moira first heard that she had cancer, she was shocked, but optimistic.

"I knew I was going to pull through," she said. Moira started out at Prince William Hospital but soon transferred to Georgetown Hospital to benefit from their research doctors.

In the first two weeks, she went through several fusions and started chemotherapy. Three weeks after she finished radiation, Moira had another lump under her arm. This would typically mean going back for more chemotherapy, but she decided to get aggressive. Dr. Saul Yanovich suggested using stem cells.

As one of 11 kids, Moira was a perfect candidate to attempt this new treatment.

"They were delighted that she had so many siblings," said Eileen. The doctors explained that since there is no national donor pool for stem cells, most people can’t find a match, but Moira had two. The first match was her twin sister, Megan.

Moira received her sister’s stem cells and the cancer was "knocked down a degree" and went into remission, she said. Dr. Yanovich wanted to be sure, though, and suggested a second transplant. Moira’s 16-year-old brother, Kenny, stepped up to the challenge.

"A lot of people may still be hesitant to donate stem cells," said Moira. But the procedure is basically giving blood.

To donate stem cells, the donor has to go through five days of shots to stimulate the stem cells to leave the bone marrow. After the last shots, Kenny’s stem cells were farmed and given to Moira. Kenny said there was pain in his bones afterwards, but his biggest concern was when he could start playing baseball again. The pain wasn’t bad enough that he wouldn’t do it again for someone in need, said Eileen.

In order to have the transplants, Moira had to be immune-suppressed. They had to destroy her old bone marrow in order to replace it with her brother’s. Because her resistance was so low, she had to be careful not to get even the smallest illness. In a house with lots of kids, this would have been especially difficult, but Moira stayed in an apartment with her sister and a roommate.

"They were good about keeping things clean and keeping themselves well," Moira said.

After only a few days, the new stem cells began regenerating and creating new cells. Now, Moira has 100 percent of her brother’s blood.

"I’m not sorry it happened," said Moira. "It’s opened my eyes to what people have to go through." When Moira thought of cancer before this, she usually envisioned an elderly person and never thought she would be a patient. While she’s not sure if she has a calling to the medical field, Moira does want to help others who are sick.

"Things are there in life to give you perspective," said Eileen.

After their ordeal, the Hall family wants to support cancer research but realizes that they must still be careful. Many fund-raising organizations still support embryonic stem cell research.

"You don’t save lives by destroying lives," said Eileen. The Halls donated money to a Leukemia-Lymphoma walk and included a letter requesting the money not be used for embryonic stem cell research.

"They responded well," Eileen said, adding that more people should write letters to these organizations. "If we just withdraw, we don’t have a voice."

The Seton School community was especially helpful to the Hall family, as well as parishioners from All Saints in Manassas and Holy Trinity. People brought over meals and have given generously to support the family’s medical bills.

Eileen said that they always prayed about the treatments to be sure it was the right thing to do. She always felt affirmation that this was the road God wanted them on.

"It is peaceful, knowing you’re where He wants you," she said. "My faith in God has grown immensely."

Moira also felt the support of the hundreds of people who were praying for her.

"It does give you a strength when a lot of people ask God, not just you," she said. "When I got discouraged, it always helped to turn to God."