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Stem cell transplant saves dad of four from aggressive blood cancer

August 20, 2021
Sean Ramos, center, and his family pose at a Riverside park for a family portrait of this UCI Health bone marrow transplant patient.

Thanks to a bone marrow stem cell transplant, Sean Ramos is healthy and grateful to be with his family. Pictured from left to right are Luke, Mikayla, Sean, wife Rebecca and Max, with Liam, front and center. Photos for UCI Health by Carlos Puma.

IN THE NEWS: More than three years ago, Sean Ramos was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy and several other treatments, the cancer came back.

This led Ramos to seek treatment at UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program — the only stem cell transplant program for adults in Orange County.

Recently, a news reporter with Spectrum News interviewed Ramos and UCI Health hematology-oncologist Dr. Stefan Ciurea, who performed Ramos’ stem cell transplant in October 2020.

“I told Sean at that time, we can still cure your disease despite two failed procedures," Ciurea told Spectrum News. “[Our] goal [is] to get patients back to living a life fully.”

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