[knstone]

Hi fellow MDS patients,
My 11th BMB since diagnosis in Feb 04 continues to show no dysplastic cells in any blood line. I was at 16% blasts in April 04. I started Thalidomide and it controlled the MDS for 2.5 years. I have no chromosome abnormalities. I'm a good responder to Procrit and Neupogen.

Revlimid was started in Dec 2006 at 10 MG/day. It has controlled my MDS for 18 months. My platelets have slowly dropped and are now in the 78-85 range. The doctor is having me pause Revlimid until the platelets rise above 90. It will be restarted at 5 mg/day. My Hgb ranges from 12.9 to 14, WBC ranges from 2.5 to 3.8. My case shows that Revlimid can work with patients that are not -5q.

When I started treatments there were no drugs specifically for MDS, now we have at least 3.

All of us with MDS respond differently. A positive attitude and finding a knowledgeable doctor with which you are comfortable can help in battling MDS. I find the more I learn about MDS the more "empowered" I feel in dealing with the disease. I'm fortunate to be a good responder to all the medications used thus far.

Keep a positive attitude as you fight MDS.