After receiving my results from my local oncologist (BCR-ABL = 0.000) I told everyone I would follow up with my results from the molecular lab at MD Anderson in Houston where I also see Dr. Cortes. That number (blood draws approximately one week apart) showed a BCR-ABL of 0.06. Of course he said that was very good, and I couldn't agree more - I'm very excited about the low numbers.
But I think there's a lesson here for all of us not to get too caught up in the numbers in and of themselves - I think ever since I've been on these boards, Trey has cautioned that trends are more important than anything, and that certainly makes sense.
An interesting note: Because of a fluke in scheduling, I actually had four PCR tests within about 6-8 weeks time. Results were 0.09, 0.912, 0.000, and 0.06.
The note that Dr. Cortes sent back had a copy of the test comments and one of them was this: "This ratio may vary up to one-log because of methodological reasons."
At any rate, just sharing a different perspective on the numbers associated with our disease. I feel good most of the time and I'm thrilled with the low counts. I hope the same for all of us on a continuing basis!
Have a good weekend!
-janekaye