Swollen Spleen and Kidneys /MDS 5 years going.

[Paige Benningfie]

My mother had Vidaza a few years ago and it worked for her. Right now she is fading fast. Her doctor wants to put her back on Vidaza and she may have colon cancer now as well. We will know for sure on the colon cancer shortly. The main concern right now is that her liver and spleen are swollen from the MDS. Does anyone have experience or knowledge they can share with the swollen liver and kidneys as well as having to go back on Vidaza? Does it works as well the second time around? Thank You!

[Mary4Mike]

Paige,

I am sorry to hear about your mother. My husband also had a good response with Vidaza – 15 months free of transfusions. We would ask about doing Vidaza again, but the doctor always said "there is no data for retrying Vidaza after it has stopped working once ". He never did try it again. I would be interested to hear what type of response your mother has if she does indeed try it again.

Your title says swollen spleen, but your post says liver. There have been posts in the past about spleen problems. You might want to do a search of the archives. Also, the chemo drugs put a strain on the kidneys as well as all the other organs. My husband had an experience with a mass on his liver that showed up on a CT scan. It looked as though it was attached to his colon as well. When they did a colonoscopy for further investigation, the probing must have pushed on the mass and caused it to drain. When they scanned him again, the mass was gone. He had excrutiating right side pain leading up to all that. I am sure that this was all due to the many rounds of Dacogen that he did. There are many prescription drugs that can effect the liver and/or kidneys i.e. blood pressure meds, anti virals, antifungals, to name a few.

Keep us posted on your mom. I wish you both the best.

Mary

[Paige Benningfie]

Thank You Mary. Will keep you posted on Vidaza second time around. Sorry for the mix up on the spleen/liver. It is her liver and spleen that are swollen and a potential cancer in her colon. I hope maybe you’re right and like what happened for your husband, the mass is something that can drain. She had colonoscopy that they couldn’t finish last week and a barium set up for Tuesday. However, she just came out of a Ct scan and we’re hoping this will give answers and she won’t have to have barium on Tuesday. Thank You so much for answering Mary.
Sincerely,
Paige

[Paige Benningfie]

Mary,

Hope all is well with you. We need big prayers for my mom. I do hope she can take the vidaza and get through the 8 mos again. If she is able and it works, I will let you know.

Sincerely,

Paige

[lindajo]

Paige, Usually once or twice a year I get a swollen spleen and or liver. Generally constipation goes along with it.

What has worked for me to resolve it has been more fiber, broad spectrum antibiotics followed by yogurt and live probiotic cultures.

The Probiotic I currently use is Pearls available at Wal-mart.

I also get more strict with my diet. No fried foods, no lactose. I eat more steamed or grilled vegetables and foods that are more easily digested.

I hope that your Mom’s colonoscopy and CT turns out o.k. It can be scary waiting for results. Let us know.

[Mary4Mike]

Paige,
I will add you and your mom to my prayers for good results and minimal side effects. Please let us know how the CT and barium go.

Mary

[Paige Benningfie]

First of all it is so encouraging to see a 19 year survivor! That is wonderful! Secondly, thank you for adding us to your prayers. I am adding you guys to mine. Mom’s barium came back she doesn’t have colon cancer just curves in her colon. The bone marrow came back that her balsts are the same as after the first 8 mos of vidaza chemo years ago so she is having 5 hour iron infusion on Friday. She has double shots of aronesp every week. How are you guys doing?

[Author]

Posts