Lt. Gov.Rockefeller steps down after 2 BMTs fail

[Bkwits]

I don’t know if this has been discussed in the forum, but I saw the article in the Chicago Tribune (July 13, Sec 1 p.9.) Arkansas’s Lt. Gov.Win Rockefeller “has a blood disorder that can lead to leukemia.” He has had two bone marrow transplants and they both failed. He is in Univ. of Arkansas hospital with pneumonia (according to the article). I read in another news source (CBS news online) that he has an MPD disorder.

Barb

[SusanJ]

Barb,

I’m so sorry for your loss. Do you mind if I ask you a question? Did your husband’s kidney failure or other complications come from the use of Vidaza? My dad is trying to decide if he wants to start Vidaza and we need to weigh all of our options. I will keep you in my prayers.

Susan

[Bkwits]

Hello Susan,

Thank you for your condolences. You can certainly ask any me questions about Joe’s illness or treatment.

Joe’s hemo doc said that they made a mistake in not checking his kidney function before starting Vidaza. So I believe the Vidaza did bring on the kidney failure, as his Dr. pretty much said.

I wouldn’t say that the other complications came from the Vidaza. Joe decided to start Vidaza when his plt count was so low (about 10 or so) and the plt tx’s didn’t bring his count up. He was having many rbc tx’s also. The IV nurses had told him of a patient of similar age and dx, who was having Vidaza treatments and it was working well for him.
So I think the complications were more a product of the disease than the treatment. It’s a hard decision to make, I know. My hopes and prayers are for your Dad’s recovery.
Barb

[Jerry]

Lt. Governor Rockefeller died today at age 57.

[Bkwits]

Oh, how sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Barb

[FredM]

Just to make sure that there aren’t rumours floating around this forum, Lt. Gov Rockefeller did not die from MDS, but from Myeloproliferative disorder, a bone marrow malfunction in which excesive numbers of red or white blood cells are manufactured and can lead to Leukemia. So, there may be a connection between the two disorders, but technically they are separate.

[uno grasshopper]

Hi Fred:

I agree with you that myeloproliferative disorder appears to be almost the opposite of what MDSers commonly see. But in addition to the possiblity of transitioning to leukemia, people with MPD can also progress to the “spent” stage where their marrow becomes scarred, and they end up with low blood production which would then exhibit symptoms similar to MDS. The common treatment for MPD is regular phlebotomies and some believe that treatment speeds up the progression of MPD to the spent stage. So there does seem to be somewhat of a connection, only at a different stage of the game.

The way I see it, technically Rockefeller died of a complication which arose from his failed BMT, not his MPD. I have no idea what his condition was like before undergoing the 2 BMTs, but people with MPD commonly live for years (I’ve seen some at 10 and 12 years) doing regular phlebotomies. It’s possible he could have lived many more years had he not been so aggressive with treatment.

Just a thought,

Marla

[uno grasshopper]

Just saw this:

“Rockefeller abandoned his gubernatorial campaign after being diagnosed last July with an unclassified myeloproliferative disorder that can lead to leukemia. Two bone-marrow transplants failed to cure the illness.”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2199760&page=1

Apparently he was just diagnosed about a year ago. MPDers frequently live much, much longer on phlebotomies alone. Curious why BMT was recommended to him at such an early stage.

Marla

[Bkwits]

The first article that I read said that he had a blood disorder that could lead to leukemia. Then I read that he had an MPD disorder. It seems that theose close to him had decided not to be specific as to what disorder he had. When Joe was dx with CMML, I found some classified it as MDS/MPD. Rockefeller was going to run for Governor of Arkansas. Maybe later they will release more info about his disease. His 2 bmts were fairly close together, just a few months apart, I think.

Barb

[uno grasshopper]

Barb, you’re right, they did mention it was “unclassified.” And CMML has been classified as an MDS. Myeloproliferative disorders are also listed as Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Myelofibrosis, Polycythemia Vera, and Thrombocytosis of which Polycythemia vera is the one that is normally treated with just phlebotomies. However, the list of conditions classified as myeloproliferative disorders are “chronic.” So it still seems to me that he could have lived much longer than a year after diagnosis had he not gone the BMT route. They also mentioned that it “could” lead to leukemia, so they “seem” to suggest that he did not have leukemia “yet.”

Yes, he did appear to have the 2nd BMT within months of his first. I suspect they tried a second time because the first one likely wiped out his marrow which could have left him transfusion dependent. Who knows?

Marla

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