Hi PolyG,
I am so sorry to hear about your Father. I know how you feel. My husband was diagnosed the same as your Dad -
MDS- RCMD. I believe you are correct that under 5% blasts he would not be considered RAEB.
My husband had great!! success with Promacta. He was the first MDS patient in a clinical trial for Promacta at The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
My memory of all the facts has faded a bit but I believe they started him on 50mg., slowing increasing until he reached 150mg. It took about 6 months for him to start having a real response. After over 125 blood/platelet transfusions and being on his oncologist's "death list", he has been transfusion independent for going on 4 years now.
I went into great detail of his journey on the forums if you would like to read them. At your Father's dosage and the short time he has been taking Promacta, in my opinion, I don't believe he has been on it long enough to be discouraged.
Please feel free to e-mail me at
shcalvert3@aol.com or we can converse on the forums that may help inform others.
The NIH has had amazing success with Promacta - starting with their AA patients and now with their MDS patients as well. It truly preformed a miracle for my husband as neither Campath nor Cyclosporine had helped.
Best wishes to you and your Father!
God Bless,
Sally