Doctor's advice notwithstanding, it's really your consideration of latest results, treatments and what is best for your age.
My low-risk MDS journey began in February 2008 after a second BMB confirmed what I would be dealing with this depressing form of blood disorder (or cancer, if you like).
Rather than watch and wait my Doc and I agreed we would monitor Hgb every three weeks and transfuse PRBCs according to a 90/80/70 sliding scale. Almost 7 3/4 years later we're still doing the treatments every three weeks but with an Hgb scale of 85/75/65.
I never 'qualified' for Vidaza owing to low blasts. And now that I've transformed to AML, Doc says I should go with Vidaza but I'm not willing to risk it now that I'm 72. There are over 20 chemo treatments available today for AML, but I'll continue my so-far successful routine. I do have a hope for a clinical trial for AML using Avocatin B that eliminates AML stem cells which may soon be available. Good luck, Ric
__________________
Ric: Low-risk MDS (blasts <4%); 4 cycles Revlimid no positive response; PRBC transfusion dependent; so far, 392'units' over 8 3/4 years; BMB #4 (15/04/01) shows evolution to AML (blasts 20-30%
)
47,XY,del(5) (q22q35),+21[24][cp24]/46,XY(1).