How true that you must consider every aspect when deciding what treatment is best for you. Transplant certainly shouldn't be taken lightly by any means, but I don't think anyone really takes the decision to have a transplant lightly.
And just to be fair, Gleevec isn't magic or gold for everyone who takes it. It failed my husband. He was only 29 years old and our first child was only 9 days old when my husband was admitted to the hospital in blast crisis. The day my son was born, my husband had a BMB that was clean. It happened that fast...lightening quick and he was in the final stages of CML...it was in his marrow and in his lymph nodes. Nine days was all it took. We had no choice but to opt for transplant. We didn't have the time to wait for all of the wonderful options that are on the horizon. Would we have chosen transplant had we had the choice of some of the other drugs/clinical trials/etc...? Probably not, a BMT was an option right from the start, as it is for anyone, but we had Gleevec and chose that...in fact, we didn't even want to consider the possibility of a BMT...BUT I still thank God every day that a BMT was an option available to us. Was it easy? No, it was pure hell. Is the recovery over? No, we still deal with things. But we've been blessed. My husband has had some GVHD, but thankfully, it has been very mild and hasn't been life threatening. He is now at school full-time pursuing a Ph.D. and works part time as a graduate assistant for the graduate school. Most people who know him at school have no idea that a year ago, he was getting ready to start his pre-transplant regimen of total body radiation and chemotherapy...they have no idea he's had a transplant. He is here to watch his son grow and to be a wonderful Daddy. We got to celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary this past June and will get to celebrate more in the years to come. By the way, his transplant was an unrelated mismatched donor, a 9/10 match...certainly not the most ideal situation, but again, we had no choice...it was the only match he had. None of the doctors at our transplant center said that he would be cured from a BMT (it is only a POTENTIAL cure). They were very honest and upfront with all of the risks and with the fact that he could relapse even after BMT; in fact, he's at higher risk for relapse because he was in blast crisis before he had the BMT. But it is also true that he could remain leukemia free as he is right now. He's had four PCR's since his BMT and there is no trace of CML. We just got the results from the most recent one a few days ago. I choose to believe that he will continue to remain free from CML, that he will continue to get healthier and healthier every day as he has done since the BMT. The road to recovery is long and hard, but he has traveled it well. I am not touting BMT as a magic cure or even as the choice everyone should make. We know people personally who didn't make it through, it has been very hard. But a BMT CAN be a good thing. It isn't an evil thing that is a guaranteed killer. My husband is proof of that and I know others who are proof of that as well. Just wanted to tell another side of the story. Not only do I thank God every day for the fact that my husband is doing so well, but I thank Him every day for the fact that there are so many options out there for people with CML...that there are new drugs, that there are new vaccines, that there are new treatments, and that there is Gleevec. I pray that everyone facing CML will research everything available to them, will make the best choice based on their personal situation, and will fight the good fight (and win!) to beat this terrible disease. All the best to you, Karly --- In [email protected], IAintFinishedYet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Regarding: BMT > > It is being 'tooted' as a CURE by the transplant doctors and specialists for statistical purposes. It is not a cure when we have brothers & sisters dying who were living the Gleevec life. 30% in 1st 3 months, over 50% the 1st year. > > We have a Chronic Disease, brothers & sisters have survived since 1998 with our gold. We have the other drugs, trials, the vaccine and research on the horizon. We want the 'quick fix', but a BMT is not a cure when it fails and we're living the Gleecec life again. GVHD cannot be taken lightly, it's a killer. So very much to consider, but every aspect in life should be considered. > > > "K" > "I AIN'T FINISHED YET"!!! > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. http://us.click.yahoo.com/JrD4fD/lbOLAA/xGEGAA/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. 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