Cancer Support

treatment does not work? Is it more difficult or less so? Also wonder how good of a predictor this test is in foretelling the spread of this cancer? My Mom was diagnosed in 1971 A Long Time AGO, and had a radical mastectomy at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC and 14 years later it returned in her bone, she passed in 1989.

But the good news is that her sister was diagnosed in 1990, just after the time of my Mom's passing and she had a different treatment, she will be, without checking the calendar, 90 next year and still going strong, she is one of five sisters and all are in their late 80's, all still plugging along on their own, well except for my Mom.

My husband has Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which began with MDS and relapsed in October 2014 at his 4 year checkup from his first transplant, his second transplant began on New Year's Eve 2014. When you have to go you have to go, there is no time to waste, he was admitted on Christmas Eve to begin chemo to wipe out the remainder of his cells, this after a month long hospital stay in October/November to kill off the leukemia. His second transplant was a fractionated experimental transplant , which means you receive about 60% of the cells on the first day and then have two other days in short sequence when you receive the balance of the donated/transplanted cells. The thought is to send some cells in to pave the way and then send in reinforcements ... we'll see! All is well and recent blood tests show he is donor

Anyway the reason I bring this up is that they have made great strides and continue to move forward in this battle against cancer, my Aunt was on Herceptin, it was a new drug not available to my Mom at the time just a year or so prior.

They are now doing a combo of half matched cells (haplo from siblings/children) in addition to cords/multiple cords to hopefully cure blood cancers, nothing we ever heard about 5 years earlier when my husband had his first matched sibling transplant.

In conclusion I will say ask the question 'what are my chances to get into remission' after this treatment? You want to go for the best treatment and not preclude any further treatment, science can a long way, we just need to be on the receiving end.

We're stepping on a ladder, we just want a chance to reach the next rung, step by step!

Wishing you well on a difficult journey, Do not be shy, but Do ask questions.