8 replies to this topic

[Widgeonus]

Is it possible that some of these blood disorders are hereditary? My grandmother lived with Polycythemia Vera for quite some time before it progressed to AML and she passed away a couple of years ago. Her daughter, my aunt, was also diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera a few years ago that has progressed to myelofibrosis. I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago with CML and am thankfully doing well on Gleevec. I know that the general consensus is that these are not hereditary, but three generations of my family have had blood disorders in the myeloid family and it just has me wanting to ask questions.

[Anti-Matters]

I've also been told CML is not hereditary, but here's a historical oddity. After being diagnosed and the initial terror quieted, I remembered my genealogy research and that I had a great-grandmother who died in her late 40s from Leukemia. Once I got home, I looked up her death certificate from 1935 and found the the cause of death, CML.

What're the odds? If I were better at math, I'd figure them out.

[rcase13]

Did they even know about CML back then?

[Billie Murawski]

Hi W,

  Boy everything is so confusing I don't think anybody really knows, my husband has polycythemia familia he quit smoking a year ago and now his bw is in the normal range, he hasn't needed a phlebotomy for about 18 months now. That is what the doc said is the treatment was and he was right but he told us pv was hereditery, seems like everyone has a different answer. Now his brother who lives in Ft.Meyers Fla. has been hospitalized about 5 times this past year for a-fib he just went in again last week for about 5 days and they said it's not his heart it's his low rbc and they gave him a transfusion and an iron infusion, ran a bunch of tests, they said the tests came back fine and they released him Monday and told him to call a hemotologist and make an appt. which he did, his appt. is in 2 weeks, I can't believe they didn't arrange for him to see the hemotologist right away. This is the second hospital he has been to and nobody has given him a proper dx yet. He has all the same symptoms my husband had last year except for the rbc. He is 4 years younger but the same height and weight they almost look like twins, I almost lost my husband last year and we never got an exact dx either but at least our cardiologist knows what he is dealing with right now and he is doing great, his pcp said we may never know exactly what happened to him. Now his brother keeps hearing the same thing. I definitely thing a bmb is called for don't you?

                                                              Billie

[Trey]

Everyone would eventually get leukemia if they lived long enough.  Telomere shortening (Billie: NOT used for cooking).

http://learn.genetic...omes/telomeres/

[Billie Murawski]

I'm not using that shortening, I want to stick around for a while. I wonder if Bosley could help them grow back!

[snowbear]

I live less than 10 miles from a nuclear power plant.  It is reported that the area has a higher rate of blood cancers, especially childhood leukemias, than places not near a nuclear facility.  I do not know if that's been confirmed or just rumor.  

 

I have a family history of autoimmune disease (RA, MS, Diabetes I) and there have been a few cancers (colon mostly), but no leukemia or lymphoma.  I figure it was just a fluke I got it. 

 

Strangely enough, both my niece and myself have birth defects.  Mine is of the inner ear which affects my hearing and balance and my niece was born was an extra thumb and some heart defects.  

[Anti-Matters]

Did they even know about CML back then?

 

My doctor says no, I asked about that and heredity - I have 2 kids. But, I have a DC from the NYC Dept. of Health that clearly spells out Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. It's a bit of a mystery.

[Gail's]

I lived in Washington during the time of experimental releases of radioactive plutonium into the air. My mom died with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, my brother nearly bit the dust with idiopathic thrombocytopenia, and here I am with cml! Seems connected in my mind!