[amykdb]

Hi-

I'm new here and really hoping that someone might have some insight for me.

My mom has been diagnosed with: severely hypocellular marrow with a differential diagnosis between aplastic anemia and hypocellular myelodysplasia.

Here's a brief history:
About 3 years ago my mom had a severe case of herpes zoster. At that time when they did her labs, the results indicated a hemotoligcal disorder that was ignored by her doctor, and thus, by her. Her CBCs have remained relatively unchanged over the past three years, and it wasn't until she was in a lot of pain that she started seeing a rheuatologist and hematologist. I'm sure that she still has an underlying autoimmune disorder; her ANA, CRP, SED & RF are elevated.

We first saw a hematologist in November. He was sure that it was MDS until her got her BMB results and saw that her cellularity was less than 5%. At that time, he sent us to the University of Michigan to see a hemaologist there since he thought the BMB indicated AA. The hematologist at U of M did another BMB that she sent to the Mayo Clinic. They found that she has a 1;7translocation resulting in duplication of 1q and deletion of 7q. Again, her cellularity came back less than 5%.

Her recent labs showed:
WBC: 2.5
HGB: 8.1
RBC: 2.29

Her platelet levels are normal. Her blasts are .5. Is this .5% when the normal ratio is 0.0 - 0.0, or is it 5%?

They plan to treat her for MDS and start cyclosporine this week. Has anyone else has a borderline diagnosis? Is treating her with cyclosporine the best course of treatment (she had bladder cancer in 2002 and is in remission without the use of chemo or radiation)? I haven't heard anything about a prognosis but I have read that a 1; 7q indicates a poor prognosis. Is this true? She's 64 years-old and was in great health before the herpes zoster. She was very active, never sat down, etc. Now, she is bed-ridden and can't exert any energy without sweating, and the pain that she's in keeps her in bed all day.

I just want to know what to expect. Can anyone help me understand what all of this means? Also, did 3 years without treatment make her condition worse?

Thanks,
Amy