The decision to have a BMT or go on Gleevec is so personal and probably the hardest decision any of us will ever make.
I was 31 yrs old when I was diagnosed and Gleevec had only been approved for 4 months so data was scarce. I researched both options untill the wee hours of the morning for many weeks and months and then I found this group (back in 2002). After finding this group, I followed several members go through their transplants. I watched with great anticipation because my doctor at the time had recommended that I "go for the cure". One after the other, they died. All in my age bracket (late twenties- early thirties). They all chose BMT for different reasons, for some they wanted the "cure", for others Gleevec wasn't working so there was little choice. I quickly found out that a BMT was much more serious than any of my doctors let on. The more I learned, the more I thought to myself that Gleevec was the way to go. For the few members who didn't die from their BMT's, their quality of life certainly wasn't what it was pre-transplant. I've been on Gleevec now for 2.5 years and while I'll admit that my quality of life isn't the same, I firmly believe that it is 100 times better than it would be if I would have gone the BMT route (assuming of course that I would have survived it). When the doctors say that a BMT is "the only cure", they often fail to mention that many people don't survive them and of those who do, many of them still relapse. I personally don't believe in the word "cure". I've seen people relapse from their transplants as early as a couple of months later and as late as 11 years later. I've also seen people who were supposedly "cured" live with a terrible quality of life afterwards; on constant medication, needing organ transplants, cateract surgery, knee replacements etc. All as a result of the debilitating side effects from the transplant. Tonya, I know you want to hear from athelets but I don't know if that will give you any more information than you can get from us "regular types". The only athelet that I remember on this list who went for a BMT, didn't survive it. He was in his late 20's. Good luck to you and your friend regardless of the paths you choose. We're all different. Take care, Tracey ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/8zSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> New! Sign up for local CML support group meetings in your local community at http://cml.meetup.com Apply for Commercial Real Estate loans online and submit your deal to dozens of hungry lenders in just minutes. Loan programs for all types of business and commercial real estate. Apply anytime at http://realestatezoo.com CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Support List) --------------------------------- Part Of CMLHope.Com An International Community Of CML Patients For more information: http://cmlhope.com Post Message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change To No Mail/Web: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change To Digest: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change To Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CML Group Web Site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CML Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CML/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
