I thought I would start another thread because in the "high platelet" post, discussion sorta seemed to be going in this direction. The question I have is about Memory T-cells. I have been thinking about this for a while. From what I gather, CML left on its own will eventually damage all red and white blood cells to a point where they cannot function to support survival of an individual anymore, hence severe infections, and all that bad stuff. I have read that people with CML, treated successfully that is, do not usually have compromised immune systems. I would assume I am an exception because I am in the minority of 45% who struggle with low white and now red counts (however, I am not sure how red blood cells help to fight infection, or if they do at all--and from what I read I am in the lucky 10% that deal with this too).
OK, I'll eventually state this as a question about myself although it is really just a general question. With low white counts, it appears to me that my immune system is compromised now. Perhaps before dx it was on its way, but I rarely, if ever, got sick before dx, (only got sick after Gleevec therapy), so the leukemic cells that I had probably were still able to do a good job at keeping me from getting sick.
Agggggh, I cannot seem to get to the point! How much (just a general question), immunity would I still have from the viruses, etc. that I had in the past (since birth)? Here are some more questions: Is my slate wiped clean with CML and Gleevec? For example, once you have had one rhinovirus, you are not supposed to be able to be infected by the same one again (I am open to correction here if what I stated is wrong---too lazy to look it up right now). So, am I kinda back to square one with CML? Have the Memory T-cells lost much of their memory?
