Appointment with New Oncologist: Vidaza follow-up

Todd met with the new local oncologist on Tuesday, June 10, 2014.  He was so pleased!  The oncologist's bedside manor made it easy for Todd to discuss his medical condition, current and future treatment.

First, Todd had his blood work done, which showed another all-time high platelet count of 136,000 which is completely in the normal range.  His other CBC counts were about the same but stable. 

The local oncologist reassured Todd that fatality rates for allogenic bone marrow transplants with a donor that is a perfect match/family member are less than 10% versus the higher 20-30% mortality rates were we told initially.  Those rates were too high and made made us uncomfortable doing the transplant any sooner than absolutely necessary. 

The opinion of this oncologist is that Todd is in "remission" right now with the Vidaza treatment.  He will gladly work with Todd's doctors at The Cleveland Clinic to administer the additional rounds of Vidaza however they prescribe it.  He is also willing to work with Todd during and after transplantation. 

We want to thank our friend Bud Mays who recommended him to us.  We feel very grateful for this doctor. 

So, where do we stand?  A second round of Vidaza starts Monday. Todd is going to do the same 5+2 day outpatient treatment. They discussed why this local group of doctors only schedule 5 days of treatment instead of the prescribed 7 days. 

He stated that 7 days were not well tolerated by most patients because by waiting over the weekend to do the additional 2 days on the following Monfay and Tuesday makes it like having the treatment for 9 days (since the chemo is still in the patient's system over the weekend).  But he is willing to do whatever his transplant doctor prescribes. 

Todd's MDS is still there even though the word "remission" was used. It's not going away permanently. There is a good chance it will stop responding to Vidaza at some point. In addition, it is tough going through the treatment every 28 days. The only long-term cure is the bone marrow transplant. 

The new local oncologist called these pre-transplant treatments of Vidaza "pre-loading" or getting the body in the best condition (lowering blast counts) to help insure a successful bone marrow transplant. 

Todd is well rested from vacation. We will enjoy celebrating Father's Day tomorrow and be ready for the first dose of the second round of Vidaza on Monday, June 16, 2014.