Hi all – I am a 47 y.o. male with MDS, diagnosed about 3 years ago and have been transfusion dependent for Red Cells since then. The disease has progressed and now it’s time to have a Bone Marrow Transplant as soon as possible. But, I have a massive spleen that is very enlarged – 30cm in length, it extends past my midline and under my belly button. The BMT transplant cannot go ahead with a spleen this size – so there are two options: i) It can be removed, which is a major surgery and the Drs are trying to avoid that, or ii) I’ve just been prescribed Azacitidine (brand name in the US is Vidaza) in hopes that it will temporarily help my blood counts and shrink my spleen. I’m wondering if anybody else has gone through a course of Vidaza, to shrink their spleen, prior to a Bone Marrow Transplant and how successful that was. Many thanks! – Ian
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