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Old Tue Oct 16, 2012, 06:42 PM
Neil Cuadra Neil Cuadra is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 2,553
Sarah,

I'm sure it's very hard for you to help your dad if you're getting information filtered though his recollection of conversations with his doctor.

I assume that the shots you are talking about are Neupogen. If it's correct that the doctor is having your dad decide whether or not to take Neupogen then the question for the doctor is "What is the tradeoff?" You need to know the risks and likely outcome if he takes it and the risks and likely outcome if he doesn't take it. The doctor can't answer with certainty but you want the benefit of his medical knowledge and experience.

There are known side effects of Neupogen but some of them are merely annoying or unpleasant, not life-threatening. Even though you have to consider quality of life, if it was me and I had no other information I'd be inclined to continue the shots because they were having some effect, and an infection due to a very low white count can be devastating. If Neupogen shots have only a temporary effect then I'd ask how often I could take them.
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