Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Support Group
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), also known as acute myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells. Patients with AML usually present with symptoms such as fatigue, bleeding, infection, prompting medical attention. An abnormal blood test reading will then result in further testing in a hospital with a hematologist to determine AML.
Hi everyone. I was just wondering if anyone has had a SCT or BMT from an unrelated donor? My sister is 42 years old and has 2 sons. One is 16 years old and the other is 10 years old. She was first diagnosed with a very aggressive form of Myleodysplasia in March 2010. At that time we were told she would need a Stem Cell Transplant. My brother and I were both tested and was not a match. At that time, they started searching the donor list. In January of 2011 she caught a cold which turned into a lung infection and congested heart failure. They admitted her to the hospital, and did a BMB. We were told at that time that she had AML M4. They moved her to ICU and started Chemo. She was in ICU for about 4 days and then moved to the Leukemia floor, which she spent about 5 weeks. They called and said they found a perfect 10 match on the donor registry. She has been in remission; however, they did another round of Chemo 2 weeks ago in Vanderbilt to keep her in remission until she can receive her transplant. She is scheduled to move into Vanderbilt housing this weekend to get her ready for the transplant. They will put her port line in and start her strong chemo next week to kill everything, and then on May 3rd she will have her Stem Cell Transplant. We were told she will be in Nashville for 100 days so they can monitor her closely after the transplant. We have all picked our weeks to stay with her. I was just wondering what to expect and what we can do to make her as comfortable as possible. Sorry for the lengthy post, I just wanted to give you a little background on my sister. Thanks Sherry
My mother has been diagnosed with AML(49 yo), and the doctor will also be sending us to Vanderbilt when the time comes for a BMT if needed. Have you been there yet? If I may ask, where are you from?
Good luck and best of everything to you. Keep us updated.
my mother doesnt have any siblings, and no "matches" yet. So I would love to hear how this all folds out.
That is wonderful that they found your sister a perfect match! With a perfect match she will have less side effects of Graft VS host. If you have any specific questions please do not hesitate to ask.
God Bless you all, Lucia
--Gloria
Heartstrung- We are from the North Mississippi area close to Memphis, TN. Where are you located? I asked my sister if she knew what her Chromosome trans-location was, and she doesn't, sorry. I have not been to Vanderbilt; however, my mom and my sister's husband has gone with my sister and said it was awesome. The staff and everyone has been great.
Lucia- I am so glad that your mom is doing great. Did your mom have to stay in the hospital the entire 80 days? They told my sister she will have the procedure and then go to the apartment. She will have to return everyday at first so they can monitor her progress and then gradually taper off until she is well enough to go home.
Gloria- I will be praying that they find a perfect match for your sister. I will definitely keep you posted on my sister's journey. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
I will be praying for everyone-Sherry
P.s. My mom said to tell her DO NOT eat any of her favorite foods between now and a couple weeks after the transplant or she might never like them again! Several transplant patients shared this with my mom and she is now telling everyone!!!!
Lucia
Yes blood and platelets are part of the game. My mom also had sinus issues and still does. Keep me posted on her recovery. My mom is back in the hosp. with a little bump in the road. CMV ( I am sure they check for this every week on your sister ) it is showing its ugly face and she needs some ugly anitbiotics to keep it away.
Lucia
I am 29 and I have AML. I had a BMT on March 30. So I am on day 61. I had a related donor, my sister was a perfect match. I went home the week of Easter. It took awhile for my counts to come up. Right now I am over 98% of my sisters cells which they are happy about. I had a hard time when I came out and was out a week and a half and had to go back into the hospital. I had GVHD (graft vs. host disease). Be on the look out for GVHD, you want to catch it early. It usually first presents as bowel problems, and rashes.
As for CMV, it is cytomegala virus (don't think you spell it that way) it is a strand of the herpes virus that most adults carry inside them and it does nothing, it just lays dormant because they have an immune system to keep it down. In those of us who are immunosuppressed, if you have CMV in your blood stream then it can grow and increase because you don't have a immune system to fight it and keep it down. They do a blood test each week to check your CMV level. I had a high CMV level and they started me on Valcyte which is an antiviral. It causes side effects, but my CMV levels are back down to zero. It can cause problems, but the doctors are usually really good about picking it up early and getting the virus under control quickly.