Hi, ltw.
I'm glad you decided to post, but don't limit yourself to this forum. Consider the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to be a good source of information too.
People may avoid talking about survival rates and long term prognosis for a 74-year-old with secondary MDS that has transformed to AML, because based on the statistics from other patients it would probably be grim news, maybe a matter of months instead of years. On the other hand, no patient is "average" and that's what statistics are about. Some patients do much better than others, and that's what lets us be optimistic even in the face of bad news.
I see a number of things that your father-in-law has going for him:
- He is in otherwise good health. This is very important!
- He was able to undergo treatment with minimal side effects.
- He went a long time without infections and is recovering well from the one he had.
- From your description I think he had a doctor who knew what he or she was doing.
- He's now at Johns Hopkins, an excellent hospital.
- He's got his family with him.
- You're gathering information to help him and asking all of the right questions. Family support can make a huge difference for patients both emotionally and because a well-informed team is there to help with the tough decisions.
You have good reason to be concerned about just such a tough choice - whether your father-in-law should fight back with treatment or spend more quality time with family. It depends in part on the doctors evaluation but just as much on his own preferences. The best you can do is to share the information you gather and be supportive of the opinions and decisions of everyone in the family.
My wife survived MDS and I don't have a personal story to match your circumstances, but I wish you the best of luck and hope you find others who can share experiences as you've asked.
By the way, the granulocyte stimulating drug you mentioned is spelled Neupogen, which is a brand name for filgrastim.