Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

My sister has CML. We were devastated when she was diagnosed and so scared but she is on Gleevec, a relatively new drug, and is doing very well. Be careful what you read on line as a lot of it is out of date information and Gleevec has really totally transformed the outlook for CML. Because Gleevec is a "targeted" chemotherapy, it attacks only the cancer cells, not the good cells so it does NOT have the toxic effects of most chemotherapy drugs, like nausea and hair loss. Right now, patients are advised to stay on Gleevec forever because even once the disease goes into remission, they find that it comes back without the Gleevec. It took my sister a good year to get settled on it. They had to adjust her dose and even discontinued it for a few weeks at one point because she was getting anemic. She is tired sometimes and she has to have periodic bone marrow biopsies but she pretty much lives a normal life. The other "good" thing is that Gleevec was considered such a breakthrough in cancer treatment that they continue to work on new drugs for CML because even though it is relatively rare, the chromosome for it was able to be isolated so it makes targeted treatments possible. No one is sure what the prognosis is with Gleevec because it is fairly new and I don't know how old you are, but estimates are as high as twenty years or more and of course, research continues during that time. I have another friend that has successfully battled another acute form of leukemia. He went through a lot, but he is in full remission. It is just amazing what they are doing now, please do not get discouraged. I will keep you in my prayers and please feel free to message me if you need any other information.

no but i was just reading about cancers is a book today called "The Gerson Therapy". This german doctor was curing patients that the medical establishment coined terminal and gave up on.

Go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Lots of answers there. And support, too!

My neighbor has CLM. At first it was very serious. Now he is stable and is on gleevec which is a drug that has completely changed the prognosis for many with this disease. I do not know the details of his own prognosis, but he seems much stronger and is able to function normally. I will keep you in my prayers as I am sure it is difficult to be waiting to get an answer about your health.

Go to mayoclinic.com for all medical questions. Good luck.

My sister has it as well, and like Julie said, Gleevec is the miracle drug! My sister was diagnosed 8 years ago, and has been in remission for over 5 years. Best of luck to you!

My uncle was just diagnosed with Leukemia last summer while I was living with him... I can't remember for sure if it was CML, but it sounds familiar... He is doing great! They started him on these chemo pills, which made him sick (but it was manageable) to get his white blood count under control. Once his WBC was under control, they put him on a different med. that has minimal side effects. He gets tired more easily than he used to, but since starting this medication he has a lot more energy. :)