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I have seen a good number of members that have had vidaza as a bridge to transplant therapy, and had it myself prior to transplant.
Vidaza is a fairly mild treatment for most people, but does have side effects, it reduced blood counts for part of the month until your system recovers, which may make you susceptible to infection, bleeding, or anemia. It causes constipation for some, diarrhea for others, along with nausea for some. My advice is to talk to the doctor about the side effects and anything that is happening to you during treatment that is out of the ordinary, no matter how small. Also, be sure to accept anti-nausea meds when offered. It is much easier to take them up front than it is to try and fight back nausea after it has hit you.
Lastly, there are studies that show that bridge therapy may be helpful to transplant by "chemosensitizing" your marrow for the drugs that you will receive to destroy the marrow and defective cells prior to transplant.
Hope this helps, and good luck with the donor search.
Dan
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MDS RCMD w/grade 2-3 fibrosis. Allo-MUD Feb 26, 2014. Relapsed August 2014. Free and clear of MDS since November 2014 after treatment with Vidaza and Rituxan. Experiencing autoimmune attack on CNS thought to be GVHD, some gut, skin and ocular cGVHD. Neuropathy over 80% of body.
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