Hi rick, i am sorry you had to join the club no one wants to be in. But you are here and your asking questions and you will get answers.

Every persons journey is individualized and a little different but seems like most are put on particular chemotherapies. When your doc gets the treatment plan laid out, most people go through an induction or 2 and then a couple of consolidation rounds of chemotherapy. Look at each round as lasting about a month. While the chemo may be 5-10 days long (or something similar to that) your blood counts drop to their lowest on day 10-14 from the first day of chemotherapy and that is the time you will be most vulnerable to infection which is a huge problem with leukemia patients. Most  aml chemo is done inpatient, some patients go home after chemo is finished, but many have to return when their counts drop  due to fevers etc. When you get chemo, not only does it kill the bad cells, it kills the good ones too so they will replace the blood and platelets as needed.

I would suggest you get a book on neutropenia which most cancer floors in the hospital have. It will explain it and help you to better prepare yourself for those days when your counts are so low. The counts generally start to recover around day 21-25 range, thus a round of chemo lasting about a month from the first dose to recovery.

My son had a total of 5 rounds which due to delayed recovery in the last few rounds took a total of about 7.5 months.

In between all that, they will be doing a bmb to see that you are in remission.

I am not going to sugar coat it. It is a long and difficult road but many here have done it. Although i haven't listed any particular questions to ask the doc, i think once the treatment plan is spelled out, you will have a better idea. Some patients go straight to transplant if it is felt they are high risk for relapse and some do chemo alone.

I just want to wish you the best, and feel free to ask away as the questions come up, and they will. Others will be posting soon.

I guess I can call myself a rookie also Rick.I'm a caregiver to my bf who is 47 years old.Diagnosed Aml m2 t(6:9).I guess you can ask you're Doctor about the standard induction.7 to 3 days.3 days danourubicin 7 days cytarabine 24 hours.As MW said they have info on the floor for patients.The doctor's gave us one from the LLS society on AML.They will probably look into you're cytogenetics, so they can give you a prognosis.You can expect alot of bloodwork everyday to watch you're counts and supportive care if needed.Tranfusions of red blood and platelets as you need them.I have not gone through Chemo myself, but there are many people that have that can give you support you need,and confidence from first hand experience.They will monitor you for fevers daily.Todd's always occur around day 3 after chemo.You can also expect them to do a bone marrow biopsy on day 14 as well as day 28 or 30 to see if and how well you responded to you're therapy.I am sorry you are going through this but there are other's I have talked to that have went along this journey and survived.

Welcome to the board Rick, here you will find that this disease is definately unpredictable so try not to get too caught up in all the statistics.  It's scary.  And everyone is different.  But is does show you that medical technology today has come a long way and people today can most of the time have better outlooks. You will find that it does take a toll on you emotionally but that is only normal. We all here understand what you are going through, for we have been there ourselves and are still here living everyday we are given.  I guess one thing maybe I would have asked the docs in the beginning is if they had done all the molecular tests done with that first bone marrow biopsy, because I guess there are some extensive testing that some hospitals just don't go as far as to do, but maybe that was because of the kind I had (M1 with nomral chromosomes) cause later on down the road that all matters for your future prognosis and treatment. Most doctors go by a standard protocol for treatment and of curse that can change later due to reactions to the treatment and how you are doing.  We wish you well and hope everything stays boring for you!  If your children are small it is better they keep those colds and flu to themselves, call them on the phone instead and once you are out of hospital you can catch up with them in between.  I have 3 children, my youngest is 9, it was hard being away from him during treatments so I know how you feel.   I also would wear masks when I was out anywhere when my counts were low, especially for blood checks at the docs office, I would not touch anything, including the magazines, door knobs, etc. Lots of hand sanitizer!

Hey, Rick, I know how you feel, when I was diagnosed with AML M2, it was a foreign language to me, too. So realize that it takes everyone awhile to come up to speed on this stuff, right now you are still in shock at the diagnosis itself. You've gotten good answers from everyone on what's to follow, the usual chemo protocols, so I won't belabor that. You may have more information, too, after your cytogenetics come back, as to what's recommended as a next step. Do not feel weird about getting a second opinion---not on the AML diagnosis itself, but on the treatment plan ahead. When I was diagnosed back in March '06, I got a second opinion, and was very glad I did, it was totally the opposite of what had been originally recommended to me.

As far as transplant goes, don't stress over that yet. Transplant may be a back-up plan for you, or may possibly be suggested as something to consider sooner. Again, your specific cytogenetics come into play here. And no matter what your docs recommend, and even if you like and trust them, a second opinion (even a third) often makes sense, if only to confirm you are heading in the right direction. Because AML treatment is so pricey, insurance companies are usually glad to foot the bill for second or third opinions, they want to make sure you are getting the appropriate care for your situation.

I was treated twice for AML, the second time I ended up in transplant. I had only one sibling, and she wasn't a match. But I had several excellent matches in the bone marrow registry, so that's where my donor came from. And if you cannot find a match there, there are still other options, such as cord blood transplants. There are always back-up plans, so remember that, Rick, when you are worried about not having a sibling. As someone said, AML treatment has come a long way, as have transplants.

BTW, I am sixteen months out of transplant, and doing excellently. My life is really back to normal, so there is life after transplant. But you know, you aren't there yet at all---you may not need one at this time. So try to breathe, focus on the day to day stuff of getting well, ask your docs everything you can think of (no question is too small or stupid) and do keep us posted---we'll support the heck out of you!

Take care,

Pam