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Originally Posted by sanadon
So our meeting with Dr. Greenberg will be with other people? I know they are having an all day "conference" in October and we RSVP'd to attend that...
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Sylvia,
I'm sorry I confused you.
It was my fault; I should have been more clear. You posted earlier that you were going to the one-day conference in Palo Alto so I thought that's what you meant by "this meeting". I was describing what to expect at the conference on October 2.
Don't worry, your appointment at Stanford on August 25 will be private.
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Originally Posted by sanadon
He is rated (?) at intermediate 1.
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That's based on a system called the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS). There are four classifications called Low Risk, Intermediate-1, Intermediate-2, and High Risk. Henry's classification of Intermediate-1 is based on the percentage of blasts (immature cells) in his bone marrow, on which of his chromosomes are abnormal (all that karyotype information in the bone marrow report), and on how many of his blood lines (red cells, white cells, and platelets) are low.
From the blood counts you report, his platelets (44) are pretty low but his white blood cell count (5.9) and his red blood cell count (5.20) are within the normal ranges. His hemoglobin (12.6) and hematocrit (40.5) are a bit low. Blood test results can vary from one day to the next or one week to the next so it's important to notice what happens from one test to the next.
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Originally Posted by sanadon
But, it could be worse, right?
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Yes. It could be better (not having MDS at all) and it could be worse (being classified as Intermediate-2 or High Risk). However, what's most important isn't Henry's classification but what to do next, and for that you need advice from experts like Dr. Greenberg.