Quote:
Originally Posted by pleasant1911
My father was diagnosed with MDS about two month ago, and I found out today that that he has MDS-MPN. Does anybody know more about this form of MDS? I google it but really did not help. Can anybody give me some information about MDS-MPN?
He is currently taking revlimid, 5mg every other day... His blood count dropped, but it dropped slower than last week. somebody please give me the 411...
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Pleasant,
First, let me say that I am sorry that your father has been diagnosed with MDS/MPN. Was this his first biopsy done? The reason I ask is that frequently MDS and MPNs look similar, but over time, the characteristics of one or the other become dominant. True MDS/MPN overlaps are kind of rare, especially with the new MDS with Fibrosis category.
Basically to understand MDS/MPN, you have to know that they are very closely related and can be difficult to tell apart. I am assuming that your father has the -5q deletion thus taking revlimid. Revlimid is an interesting drug in that it is used for both MDS and MPNs with effectiveness.
The reason for being a little circuitous to your answer is that MDS/MPN is very rare amongst already rare diseases. From what my doctors have told me, the name does not much matter. At the end, they are both blood diseases that lead to cytopenias that require treatment at some time.
Just like MDS which has several classifications, depending on which system you use, MPNs are divvied up into general categories:
JMML
Atypical CML
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia
Here is a good starter page:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/p.../Patient/page1
I think that it is good to go to your father's caregiver and get as much information about the disease as you possibly can and understand why he is receiving each treatment that the doctor recommends.