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Old Thu Oct 10, 2019, 07:49 PM
Neil Cuadra Neil Cuadra is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 2,553
Dmassey,

I'm sorry to hear that your Dad's health is failing. I'm glad he was able to make his own decision about hospice, since it's so hard for a family member to judge when further treatment toward a cure is not worth the decrease in quality of life.

Your question is a practical one, to help you and your family prepare. Because there are so many possibilities, nobody can say with certainty what your Dad's next weeks and months will be like, but we know what has typically happened with other MDS patients.

Supportive case with transfusions and growth factors like Aranesp can continue to be helpful, but your Dad's overall inability to keep up his blood counts will likely affect his organs and his ability to ward off infections. Quality of life at this stage benefits from appropriate pain relief, from the comfort of family and friends, and from the experience of the hospice team.

I've written about MDS end-of-life before, and so have others. I suggest reading the MDS: How do you die? and What can I expect in end stage MDS? threads, as well as reading the stories of other patients here.

Good luck.
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