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a few questions…

This topic has 3 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 19 years ago by Suzanne.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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April 27, 2005 at 6:11 pm #5844

Kathryn
Member

Hey,

My dad actually needed blood yesterday, not just platelets; 2 bags to be exact. Would that be because he lost so much that he was anemic and needed more than just platelets?

Is the term infusion regarding how medication is administered through an IV and transfusion regarding blood & blood products?

What is induction?

Is the chemo that is given during a hospital stay a great deal stronger than the Vidaza he is getting now?

If the Vidaza doesn’t hold off the progression, the doc. told him that he will have to go into the hospital for chemo……..

I think that is about it, at least for now…. As always, your input is always appreciated!

I hope that you all are having a good day. You’re in my thoughts and prayers.

Kathryn

April 28, 2005 at 12:26 am #5845

Terri
Member

Kathryn, Vidaza is a form of Chemo, My understanding it is not as heavy as the Chemo administered in the Hospital. What they explained to us is in the Hospital they give you heavy chemo that cleans out all the cells of the Bone marrow good and bad and then in laymans terms new ones come back. You are very suseptible to infections etc etc that is why you are hospitalized.
Suzanne Will probably respond she went through this and is doing fantastic.
The Drs did not want to do this on Bob unless nothing else works.

Sorry I am not much help.

April 28, 2005 at 12:26 am #5846

Kathryn
Member

Well, it helps to read! For some reason I had never clicked on the links on the side of the home page and when I did, I found all the answers to my questions!

If you have anything to add, please do.

Thanks,

Kathryn

April 28, 2005 at 1:53 am #5847

Suzanne
Member

Kathryn. Lets hope the vidaza works but if it does not, Ask your doctors to check on using Zarnestra as a chemo for him. It is new and has had some good results in patients your dad’s age. My understanding is that it is in the process of being approved through FDA for that purpose now. It is not as strong as the induction and consolidation chemos and was in trials for quite a while for chemo for older patients.
I took a smaller dose in a trial using it as a maintenance drug (they have never found an effective one) It is pills and I had few side effects at my dosage level. My understanding is that it helped about 30% of patients taking it in place of the stronger chemos. That is a high % compared to results for a lot of the drugs we try.
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