OUTLINE: Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 100 minutes on day -5 and again 6 hours after administration of carmustine IV over 2 hours on day -2, followed by melphalan IV over 20 minutes on day -1. Patients receive intravenous CD34 peripheral blood stem cells on day 0. At 3 months and 9 months, patients with adequate hematologic counts receive cyclophosphamide IV, oral dexamethasone, etoposide IV, and cisplatin IV for 4 days. On day 3 of continuous infusions, gemcitabine is given over 100 minutes. At 6 and 12 months after autotransplant, patients receive oral dexamethasone on days 1-4, paclitaxel IV over 6 hours on day 2, and cisplatin IV over 24 hours on day 3. Patients are followed every 6 weeks to 3 months until death.