Hi Rick. I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis.  You have definitely come to the right place for support and information.  Unfortunately, there are many people here whose parents have been diagnosed with a blood disease around the same age as your mom.  The results of treatment for those patients seem to vary dramatically.  All I can tell you is to ask lots of questions, get all the facts, talk to your mom about what she wants, and go with your heart.

You seem to appreciate the unpredictability of this disease and the transplant process.  My dad was diagnosed with AML, a type of leukemia, at age 65.  He did very well with chemo and got into remission quickly. Then, we were given a similar scenario as your family was - without a transplant, the doctors felt his remission would only last 1-2 years. At first my dad was going to take a chance and not get a transplant. Then, his three sisters were tested and one turned out to be a "perfect match".  (Do you know whether your mom has a sibling match yet?) I think that was a turning point which caused the doctors to tell us that his odds were slightly better with the sibling stem cell transplant. So my dad went ahead with it. It was a "mini-transplant", which uses less chemo than a full tranplant. They do these mini's for older patients, I believe.  He did remarkably well with that, and his blood counts came back up very quickly.  Now for the bad news.  About 6 months after the transplant, my dad took a sudden turn for the worse.  He struggled with transplant-related complications for about 9 months before he passed away.  Now, I'm not trying to scare you, but the reality is, there is no way to predict which patients will do okay and which will have problems. I feel that the transplant is a roll of the dice. So in a sense, it comes down to what the patient wants to do and how much "fight" they have in them. My dad chose to discontinue treatment at a point where some others might have continued to fight - so, maybe your mom is a real "fighter" and it's worth going for it.

I hope this helps.  Keep us posted on your mom.

Leslie

Rick, Stagsgirl's response was right on. It truly is hard to predict the outcome of a transplant. Mine has gone terrifically well (so far) with a matched donor from the registry, I'm at 16 months. I did not have any complications at all (age 52 at time of transplant), but every transplant is so different, you just can't predict. As she said, they will probably suggest a "mini" transplant which hopes to be a little less difficult for older people. This is certainly a difficult decision to make. I was an AML patient, so I didn't have a Vidaza-like drug as an option, my choice was pretty clearcut (after I relapsed, allo transplant was pretty much my only hope). When you've got the option to see what the Vidaza does, if anything, that muddies up the waters.

I think if I were you, I would read everything I could about "mini" transplants, how they differ from full allo transplants (which I had) and how they are the same, the risks involved, etc. I can tell you that my hospital (U of NE) does them into a patient's early 70s, though I couldn't quote you the success rate. City of Hope is a great hospital (we've had others here go there) but you might want to seek even another opinion and another team's advice, just to have even more information in your arsenal to make a decision. I know this isn't much help, but whatever you all decide, we are here to support you in whatever way we can.

Pam

Rick,

I'm sorry the hear about your mother.  I don't know much about CMML - I was AML.  I'd check into other opinions as well.  Seattle is a great resource (fhcrc.org).  I had my transplant there almost 2.5 years ago.  Their research is top notch.  Does your mother have other health concerns?  That may play into the opinion you received.  Read as much material as you can on the transplant process.  As others have said, every case is different so the material will sound scary but keep in mind that many have made it through the process.  A mini-transplant is worth pursuing.

Vidaza helped me get into remission when I relapsed.  I know that they use it quite often on older patients because it has fewer side effects.  I was 48 when I had my transplant so my story is quite different.

Keep us posted.

Kelly