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Momhope,
We were scared to death when we first read statistics about MDS after my wife's diagnosis, but then we had two realizations. First, treatment for MDS has gotten better and better each year, so the statistics gathered from past cases (before the latest treatments were developed) painted a pessimistic picture that no longer applied. Second, statistics apply to a broad range of patients, from children to octogenarians, and that doesn't tell you the prognosis for one individual patient. We all have the hope that we're in the better-than-average group and will respond well to treatment. That optimism is what drives many of us to work with the doctors, seek the best treatment, and take care of ourselves.
Transplants used to be limited to younger and healthier patients, but two things changed that. First, doctors developed less rigorous pre-transplant regimens that are suitable for older patients. Second, transplant techniques have improved so that the age limit for transplants has increased year after year.
I know things look grim to you, but I think the best way to help your mom is to keep asking questions, learning more, and talking regularly to her doctor. If you accompany your mom to her next doctor's appointment armed with a list of questions, and make sure you get answers to each one, your mom's spirits may be boosted just by seeing the active role you are taking and knowing that you are fighting back against this disease.
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