Thread: AA Relapse?
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Old Mon Jun 21, 2010, 08:39 AM
squirrellypoo squirrellypoo is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London, UK
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Yeah I'm with Laura here, I'd definitely consider a BMT, since that's a much more permanent fix, and he already has the lowest risk factors possible. It's really scary reading the statistics for BMTs, but you've got to remember that the bulk of BMTs (and therefore, the bulk of the statistics) are on much, much older people, and most are for cancer cases, not AA or MDS. So he's already got much better chances than the average!

And after two rounds of ATG, as far as I can see, the only reason to go for a third instead of a BMT were if his age were an issue (which is clearly isn't), or if there wasn't a donor out there. If you can do a BMT, go for it, because it really can fix this for life. And even at it's best, ATG only works for 5, 10, or 15 years (according to Prof Marsh, I hold the world record for ATG remission at 25 years, but even so, do you really want your son going through this all over again in his 30s or 40s?).
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36/F - 1984 SAA treated with ATG [complete remission until] Oct 08 - burst blood vessels in eyes and low platelets; Jan 09 - AA & hypo-MDS; July 09 - BMT (RIC MUD PSCT) July 10 - 10k for Anthony Nolan (1yr post BMT! 53:48) Sep 10 - Wedding! I've run 5 marathons now!! (PB 3:30!)
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