Hi Alison,
"Best supportive care" in MDS patiens should include
Eprex for RBC:s or a similar drug if the patient doesn´t have a high serum EPO (more than 500) from the dx (my serum EPO was 800 so I never tried Eprex).
Then the patient should have
Neupogen or a similar drug for WBC:s if he/she is getting infections or the neutrophils are very low - I have seen that members of this list manage with very low neutriphils but your dad has already had two serious infections.
http://professional.cancerconsultant....aspx?id=32975
You have to follow your dads serum ferritin value because patients that have had many RBC:s transfusions develope iron overload. When serum ferritin is between 1000 and 1500 he needs an
iron chelating drug like Exjade (an oral drug) or Desferal (iv). If the liver tests start to increase it is important to start chelating theraphy.
In Sweden the doctors prefer Desferal for MDS patients since the three oral drugs may have a negative effect on the bone marrow. I started with Desferal when I got my 40th unit of RBC:s - it was really too late but I had had four infections and only got RBC transfusions because Desferal was considered too much for my body at that time.
Kind regards
Birgitta-A