Restarting Vidaza

[Jean Ira]

Has anyone taken a break from Vidaza shots and then started taking them again?
My husband had very good results from it, but then it began not working as well. That was near the time when he ended up in the hospital fighting a MRSA infection. He is still taking an antibiotic to be completely sure that is gone. It will be a 3 month break in the Vidaza treatment with Venclexta.
Thank you in advance for your response.

[Ashley Moncrief]

Thanks so much for reaching out! Is the Venclexta a new addition or was he on it before?

[Jean Ira]

He was on it before, just ramping up to 4 pills a day when the infection/temperature took him to the ER and hospital for 2 weeks.

[Ashley Moncrief]

I can’t give medical advice, but I can hopefully provide a little insight. If he was only on the Venclexta a short time before it was put on hold, I would think it’s fair to say that the medication wasn’t given enough time to work. It can take a month or month and a half to see results. If the doctor has recommended to try it again, it may be worth a try.

I have seen patients’ therapy be on hold for months due to infection. It can be a really tough spot. His body struggles harder to fully fight the infection because of the MDS and you can’t fight the MDS because of the infection.

You and your husband will be in our thoughts. Please reach out if there is anything we can do.

[Kathie Wolf]

My husband was diagnosed in 2017. We did watch and wait, then Procrit and in 2018 he did a year of Vidaza. His labs came back to normal beginning at about 7 months, the last to become normal was his WBC at 10 months. After a year, he was given the option of staying on it or stopping. His oncologist said there was no right way. ( She’s connected to the Stanford center of Excellence). We asked if he restarted it again at a later date, would it still work. She answered, she had no reason to think it wouldn’t. He has not had any since and his labs remain normal. Good luck!

[Jean Ira]

Thank you, Kathie, that’s encouraging. It’s great to hear that your husband is doing so well!
Thanks, Ashley, for your response.

[Sylvia Rothbein]

Hi
My 76 yo husband was diagnosed with high risk mds at MSK in NY in June 2023 and began vidaza and venetoclax in July. In Sept he got very sick for unknown reasons and taken off the transplant list…he’s good now and back on the list. We ve been told his chemo treatment will fizz out in a couple of years so my husband is willing to take the stem cell transplantation risk which could shorten his life or cure his mds…now we are learning about high risk mds patients who don’t choose the transplant….very confused
Sylvia

[cerbysam]

Did Medicare part B pay for the procrit and or the Vidaza

[Author]

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