Renee, Welcome to the zero club. I believe I am number 973. You did what took me 3 plus years to achieve. Great job!!!!!!!
I would say the rerason your siblings have not been tested is that Gleevec is doing such a great job. If you feel better know this information then ask your doctor about it. Don't wait for them. I was diagnosed 2-13-02 (age 41, April bday) and had my 4 siblings tested that summer (however none were a good match) and went to the global donor list and found several good matches. That always made me feel good to know this. But then again when I was DX, Gleevec was on the market for less than 4 months so the doctors continue to make sure backups were in place. In fact, my bone marrow transplant doctor had me go through a stem cell harvest last summer (after I reached the zero club) as a back up for myself. This way if anything turns south, I can atleast put myself back at ground zero (at least that is the idea). On the side effects, talk to your doctor about taking something for the acid reflux. I did in the beginning and now take nexium (purple pill) and that problem has gone away. As far as the other side effects, hang in there because they will get better. I am now 4 plus years with dealing with them and the episodes are happening further and futher apart. (Many good posts here about things to help with the side effects.) Remember (unfortunately) you are not alone and together we will all get through this. John Renee wrote: > I am 41 years old. I was diagnosed with CML 2 years ago. In 2004, the > cytogenetics test was positive for 19 of 20 cells and the FISH test was > positve for 200 of 200 cells. I went on 400mg of Gleevec daily and > after 6 months increased to 600mg daily. > > I have a lot of the same side effects as others: nausea, diarrhea, > muscle cramps, water retention, loss of appetite, some changes in my > complexion and hair, lack of energy, acid reflux, etc... > > In 2005, when I had my 2nd bone marrow biopsy, my cytogenetics test > shows 0 of 20, FISH showed 0 of 200, and PCR showed 0 of 10,000 cells > positive. So after one year on Gleevec, I had what my doctor called an > "excellent" remission of the CML. I have to agree after reading some > of the other posts. I feel very fortunate to have responded so well > to Gleevec. > > My next bone marrow biopsy is coming up soon - June 22, 2006. > > My oncologist has not said anything about testing any of my siblings > (for compatibility) for possible bone marrow transplant. In the back > of my mind, I keep wondering when I will stop responding to the Gleevec > or when my doctor is going to start pressing me toward getting the bone > marrow transplant. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
