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Old Wed Aug 31, 2011, 03:58 PM
freedom99 freedom99 is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Leamington, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 40
Your Mom

Hi Sandra;
It's a difficult time with so many emotions, questions and decisions. One can easily be overwhelmed with the emotions when one dwells on all details of the situation, what is and what's to come.
Sharing on this forum is one way to talk about it and get some relief. Another way is to have a good friend who you can confide in and who will simply listen.
Refractory anemia with excess blasts I and II. RAEB was divided into *RAEB-I (5-9% blasts) and RAEB-II (10-19%) blasts, which has a poorer prognosis than RAEB-I. Auer rods may be seen in RAEB-II which may be difficult to distinguish from acute myeloid leukemia.(AML)
My wife has moved into RAEB-2 and Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
She is 63, has two platelet transfusions per week. That keeps it at around 15 but does not increase it over a three day period. This most likely means the platelets are not working anymore.
Red Blood cells are transfused two time per month. These are kept at 80 g/l. and do increase by about 20 each transfusion.
In the last month her white cell counts has gone up to 40 x10^9/l and blasts, bands, Auer rods and smudge cells showing up in the blood. This most likely means the onset of AML.
She was put on Hydrea one tablet of 500mg per day to reduce the white blood cells.
The thing is that the transfusions are still working and I will certainly keep that going as long as I can. The doctor did ask me to consider stopping the transfusions but at this point I'm not.
Keep the transfusions going as long as you can. Our level of transfusion for platetlets is 20 and RBC is 80.
I can see that every situation can be so different.
I see that you are getting some great support from the other people on this part of the forum.
__________________
Wife 63, June 2010 MDS (refr anemia - excess blasts type-2) PLTs 11,000/μl with giant forms 2 TF/wk. Hgb kept at 80g/l with 1TF per 2 weeks. 9% blasts 2 cytogenic abnormalities del(5)(q22q35) + inv(20)(p11.23q11.21) 3 cycles Vidaza no effect. June 2011 to AML WBC to 67 blasts and Aur rods in blood.
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