Questions

[JulieMarie]

Hello there,

On Friday my mom had a dr. appointment some stuff is strange.

1. dr. wants to start doing cbc once a week rather than bi-weekly on vidaza treatment round 3 her counts as of friday were hemo12.5, wbc 4.6, and she (mom) said platelets in normal range but no number give Is this normal for dr. to change when cbcs are done?

2. last month dr. said a bmt was way off in future (sounded like maybe years away) but this month he said after round 4 of vidaza and another bmb (she’s only had one before she started treatmnet) that if there were any signs of blasts (I think) that she would be going to Cleveland Clinic to get ready for BMT. How could this have changed in one month especailly with her counts being so good?

[Neil]

Hi Julie,
Yes to both.
1. WHen a patient first sees a doc they will get frequent CBCs to determine how stable the counts are. Also to see if there are any short term trends. Once the docs become familiar with her counts the CBCs are taken less frequently.
2. Although her HGB and BC are pretty good, the presence of blasts could eventually change that. The docs want to keep her blasts as low as possible and to keep them out of her peripheral blood. If blasts start to increase the docs will become more aggressive with her treatment.
This does not mean there has been a change. Sounds more like an explaination if there is a change.

Be sure you/she understand the implications of any more aggressive treatment.

[JulieMarie]

Neal,

Thanks for the reply. I guess my mom has been diagnosed with MDS since Sept / Oct ’04 and since then he’s either done cbcs once or twice a month depending on what was going on. Then this sudden change. Guess I’m just worrying to much and need to start up one of my hobbies (sewing and scrapbooking) to get my mind off of everything for a few hours.

Also, have you ever thought about making a website or writting a book with all the normal “English” items you know about MDS?

Hope you are doing well.

Thanks again!

[LisainOk]

Sorry I can’t answer any of your questions but I think Neil writing a book is an excellent idea!!
~Lisa

[Author]

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