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A Mallet! OMG.
Friends and neighbors, whether or not you ask for sedation, I think we need to join together with our fellow bone marrow warriors and try to get docs to use the drill.
I asked my friendly medical device rep about the costs. She said the typical manual BMB kit costs about $10. The kit for the drill costs $80-$100. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who wants to increase to cost of medical care ten-fold. But the bill for my last BMB (which admittedly included a full Karyotype and FISH panel, plus FISH on an extra chromosome) was north of $12,000.
The extra $90 for the drill is three-quarters of one percent of that cost. And the chances of getting a good viable marrow sample out of the process is significantly enhanced.
I'm going to put the arm on my local hematologist to try the drill. (And, no, the company is not paying me to say this -- though maybe I should buy their stock!)
A mallet! Oy vey!
Greg
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Greg, 59, dx MDS RCMD Int-1 03/10, 8+ & Dup1(q21q31). NIH Campath 11/2010. Non-responder. Tiny telomeres. TERT mutation. Danazol at NIH 12/11. TX independent 7/12. Pancreatitis 4/15. 15% blasts 4/16. DX RAEB-2. Beginning Vidaza to prep for MUD STC. Check out my blog at www.greghankins.com
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