[smm]

Hello All....
I am new to this forum and I hope I am posting my concerns in the right place!
Forgive me if I am not.

My mom (72 years old) was diagnosed with MDS (RAEB) with 20% blasts and very low rbc, wbc and platelets about 6 months ago. Since then, she has had six vidaza treatments with Procrit injections. To date her blood counts are very close to the normal and she feels really good. However, her recent bone marrow biopsy showed that the blasts are still pretty close to 20%. The doctor can't really give us a definite answer as to why the blood levels are up but the blast count hasn't changed much. It was so discouraging to get the biopsy results back since mom has been feeling so good...we thought for sure the blast count was down. Has anyone ever experienced this?
The next step is for my mom to go into the hospital next week for a seven day heavy duty chemo treatment each day. These treatments will wipe out her immune system which will keep her in the hospital for a minimum of about 2 weeks. The doctors are hoping that she will go into remission and be a candidate for a stem cell transplant.
Is this scenario familiar to anyone? What if she is not put into remission? Does anyone know what will happen next? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!
smm