3 replies to this topic

[Chris1579]

Hello, All,

I hope everyone is doing well!  My Dad has been on the Tasigna since March 19 - here is the listing of his weekly blood work.  I understand that his WBC has went down, but not really sure what else I should be looking at ~

Date          WBC          HGB          HCT          PLT          RBC          MCV          MCH          MCHC          RDW          MPV

3-16          42.1               13.1          40.1          399          4.64          86.4          28.2          32.7               15.6               11.4

3-26          23.8               12.8          39.2          380          4.57          85.8          28.0          32.7               15.6               11.4

4-02          14.1               12.4          38.5          324          4.39          87.7          28.2          32.2               15.4               12.2

04-09          7.9               11.1          35.1          204          4.09          85.5          27.1          31.6               15.3               11.3

04-16          5.5               11.2          34.7          148          3.99          87.0          28.1          32.3               15.2               10.6

What can we expect from this point?

He has only had 1 EKG since starting on March 19th - should I be requesting another one?

My Dad has the misconception that the Doctor will tell him what he needs to do - I need to know what we need to do to make sure that he stays on the right path.

All help, support and information is greatly appreciated!

God Bless,

Christa

[CallMeLucky]

You and your dad are both right.  In the case of CML, as long as you are responding well, then things kind of chug along and there isn't a lot to do except take the meds and go to all the follow ups to make sure he is still responding well.  His blood counts look pretty good (still amazed every time I see what a little pill can do).  It appears he has achieved his first treatment milestone; complete hematological response (CHR).  This means his blood counts are pretty much back to normal.  They look for this within three months of starting treatment, so he is pacing very well. The doctor will likely start to spread out his appts soon.  The next big deal will be at the three month mark in June when they should do a FISH and PCR test.  Other than that he should be doing fine.

[Happycat]

Christa,

Just make sure he doesn't see those numbers and get all full of beans and think he can skip doses to save money and still get a good response. My mother is notorious for cutting back on her meds on her own. It costs too much, it makes her hair fall out, it makes her gain weight, it gives her funny dreams, etc.  She makes up all kinds of excuses, and then just does what she wants. I keep telling her she's going to wind up with a stroke (she has a-fib), but she doesn't listen.

Anyway, just make sure your dad doesn't do something similar.  Otherwise, numbers look good. Platelets came down nicely, too.

Traci

[Trey]

Good blood work.  Although blood counts normalizing is important, the real story regarding how well Tasigna is working against the CML cannot be seen in these blood results.  The FISH and PCR show that.

Homework:

http://community.lls.org/docs/DOC-1273