My Bmt results !!

[abe]

Hello everyone,i received my bmt results.The findings are indicative of a possibel preleukemic state.I’m going for a second opinion very soon.These results are very confusing to me,and any info on such a dx will be welcomed.Thanks so much.

Abe

[maueenh]

Abe,

Do you have a copy of the report? If so it should indicate % blasts, cytogenetic analysis (chromosone abnormalities) and a summary finding or diagnosis such as RAEB. If you do not have a copy maybe you could call the office and ask for the information.

Maureen

[abe]

Maureen,

Thanks for the reply.I did receive a copy of the report.It indicates the bone marrow aspirate reveals a 17% blasts in region one.The blasts are postive for cd33,cd13,cd4 cd34 and hla-dr.

Abe

[choijk]

Hi Abe,

I don’t know what kind of insurance plan you are on, but when my father first got diagnosed, we received a second opinion from the hospital that we are treating at (HMO system- Kaiser) which was free of charge. Afterwards I took my dad for a third opinion at UCLA Medical Plaza which we had to pay out of pocket ($500). Either way, all three doctors found that MDS was the correct diagnoses and the later 2 second/third opinions found their findings consistent with our first doctor.

It is definetly worthwhile to get a second opinion. One thing I wish I did at UCLA was get more information from our doctor when were paying $500 for about 40 minutes of his time. But at that time, I didn’t know any better and just wanted his opinion as to whether or not my dad indeed had MDS. I didn’t think of asking any other question but fortunately, Dr. Paquette provided information such as what type of MDS my dad has, what his IPSS score is, and what treatments he would recommend.

I know there are very helpful resources such as devmdsfound.org.php53-13.dfw1-2.websitetestlink.com that lists questions to ask docs, but just in case, here are some of the following questions I would suggest directing towards the doc:

1) What in the BMB that makes you believe that I have MDS?
2) If MDS, what type of MDS? and the reason your hematologist believes you fit into that type of MDS. For instance: RA, RARS, RCMD, RAEB, etc.
3) What’s the IPSS score? Low? Intermediate-1? Intermediate-2? High?
4) Any excess blasts?
5) Any abnormal chromsomes?
6) What are the treatment plans? Side effects of the treatment plans
7) Which blood lines are affected? Red ? White? Platelets?

I just wanted to share our experiences with you because I know that when we were in that situation in March, it was such a scary experience. There was so much information and so much to sift through. Nothing made sense but I kept asking questions after questions. I found this forum to be Godsend and it has been extrmeley helpful.

Good luck with the second opinion and please keep us posted.

[Author]

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