My mum was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

hi cath my hubby has just had a stem cell transplant (june 10th) at addenbrookes he was in 25 days altogether includin the chemo to start with. he was diagnoised in january hes being treated for aml but it isnt it its a real rare type and the stem transplant gives 45%chance of cure you must tell your mum its a long road but worth it. his consultant frightened us when explained all that could go wrong but they have to tell you all that. your mum must be fit because they wont even go there if they think your body wont take it.you never menioned if your mum has a mathed donor my hubby had his sister, its just like a blood transfusion they took the blood from his sisters arm (vein)it takes 4hrs then once its checked its given to your mum through her line its amazing. everyone handles things different ok the treatment isnt nice but it dosent last for long and there is a chance of a cure some people dont even get that hun so be strong i fell to peices in the begining couldnt believe it, hubby was very calm .oh hes 47 by the way

hope i was helpful cath if you would like any more advice please ask
we were told it would return in 2years if just left. good luck weve still got a long way to go ourselves cath but weve got a lovely 4year old daughter only been married three years and intend on having a lot more xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Jools

Thanks so much for your replies - sorry only just logged in today as have been staying up in sussex with my dad and seeing mum. It is really interesting to hear about your husbands experience. I really hope he is soon on the mend and you can start to move on. My mum seems to have got a little better and is eating small meals again but still not happy as they say she has to have a third lot of chemo before she goes for the stem cell transplant. She doesnt have any siblings so the AN trust are looking for a doner at present. Hopefully she will go to London in September. She is going to the Royal Free at Hampstead Heath - the consultant told her it will take a good year for her to fully recover!
I guess as she is 63 it is pretty tough on her body but as you say they must think she is fit and healthy enough to do it in the first place.

By the way my husband had Non-Hodgkins 15 years ago and had treatment for 2 years and at one point was told he only had 3 months left! He is fighting fit now and ran the London marathon in aid of Leukaemia Care this year!

Good Luck with everything and thanks again - please stay in touch and let me know how things go.

Catherine

hi catherine glad i was a bit helpful my hubby had 10 then 8 then5 days chemo then 5days just before stems go in but that was to kill of any odd bad cells that might be hiding up and to squash his own bone marrow ready for the donor cells to grow. Hes on tablets tokeep his immune system down so other cells can florish and dont attack each other. weve been to addenbrookes today and they are very pleased with him. its brilliant news about your hubby and my hubby is also talking about doing charity stuff he used to be in a band so theres one idea as long as they dont get me to sing lol take care talk soon
jools

Hi Jools, Really pleased to hear your husband got on well today at the hospital. My mum has had the 10 and 8 day course and is currently still in hospital waiting for her bloods to recover enough so she can go home for a rest - they have told her she will then have a 5 day course and then the 5 days before the stem cell so sounds the same as your hubbys treatment - she has been on the AML15 trial. It will be good to tell her about your hubby's treatment so she can compare notes as she was originally told she would only have 2 lots of chemo and now the consultant in London has said he wants her to have a third course before the transplant.
Chat soon. All the best.
Catherine

Hi Cath1 ;o)

i'm 37 and was diagnosed with AML in May 2008 (funny lil coincidence thingy heheh)

I elected to go on AML-15 and was randomised onto AML15-DAR
after my counts recovered there were still blast cells in my blood so they took me off trial and put me on FLAG-Ida

The first Flag-Ida was more or less immediate after the DAR (although i suffered a neutrosepsis in between)
It actually felt proper B.A.D. ... difficult to describe but - sickness of the body and just about EvErYwHeRe!!

(*Looks at your mum* - Here's to plain crisps, lemonade and the LOVE of the family ;o)

The chemo brought a good remission and i'm currently awaiting my counts to recover after my third chemo (2nd Flag) i rode this chemo really well probabli because i knew what to expect ... kinda.
But my neutrophils are still sitting low even after Chemo + 23 days
(last time they recovered in sixteen!)

AND i still have my hair *laughs ... ... and then runs to the bathroom mirror* .... *Frets*

The third course will be important to your mum because they need to put the leukaemia as far on the back foot as they possibly can. It will assist the preconditioning treatment prior to the transplant too.

Just make sure she gets a little bit of weight on - your ma sounds fit enough ... I'm sure your Love will do the rest of what she will "need"

I don't know for certain but plenty of people are saying it.

It's the best way!!

:o)

ALL the best

Paul