[Kenneth Alexander]

Thank you for posting Everett. I am 70 and I have MDS and have just completed my 15th cycle of Vidaza 7days on and 21 off.I am also accustomed to the treatments and feel okay. I am treated locally in Utica by Dr. Butalla where I receive the Vidaza and whatever else.My treatment is coordinated with Dr. Elizabeth Griffith in Roswell Cancer Institute in Buffalo. I am being worked up for a bone marrow transplant and will go there this Monday, 2/12/18, for a Physical Therapy evaluation to see if I can withstand the rigors of getting a transplant. I will also see Dr. McCarthy,head of the transplant team, after the PT evaluation. I saw him last December and he said I was too fat and had to lose 25-50 pounds before he would consider doing a transplant.I have been on Atkins for several months and have been going to see a Physical Therapist three times a week since December to increase my core strength and general endurance. His concern Is the potential of Graft-Host Disease and his having to treat me with Prednisone causing me to blow up with fluid. That would be a very bad situation for overweight me. I am fortunate that my sister is a 100% match and has never had a child. So that is in my favor.Getting a transplant would mean having to spend up to 6 weeks in the hospital and an additional 58 days equaling 100, living within 35 minutes of the hospital. The problem is my wife and I have 3 dogs and while living near Buffalo, the hospital would require her to be with me 24/7 as my caregiver.I have no one else. We would have to get the dogs taken care of for approx 2 months.During the first 6 weeks my wife would travel to the hospital on weekends, a one-way 4 hour trip, and we have someone who will stay with the dogs.I saw an interesting statistic. 30-40% of MDS patients convert to AML and the mortality rate during the first 6 months after a transplant is 40%.Apparently, MDS kills us, just not as quickly. Regards to you and your family, Everett. Ken

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