September 17, 2000
Hi All!
We finally had a chance to talk to Dave's doctor on Friday. As expected, he didn't have anything earth-shattering to tell us. He said the zero Philadelphia chromosome was "great news". And of course, he'd still like Dave to participate in the transfusion study. However, where with most patients he'd be 90 percent convinced they should participate, with Dave, he's only 60 percent convinced. We'll take that as a sign that he's not too concerned.Also, he told us that 85% of patients show no Philadelphia chromosome at the 6 month biopsy.
He's still waiting for the results of another test to come back. This is a test that looks a little more closely at the marrow samples to see if there are any leukemia indicators. He didn't seem too concerned about that either. He should have those results in a week or so.
What now? Since we're not going to participate in the study, we don't need to see him for 3 months! I asked if Dave should have blood tests done in the meantime. He said it wasn't necessary, but if we wanted to do it in 6 weeks, it wouldn't hurt anything. He'll do another bone marrow biopsy at 1 year (March), but in the meantime, we'll just get back to the business of living.
Aside from that, it's pretty darned chilly here. Yesterday and today were in the 50s. Is fall here already??
Hope this finds you all well, and warm!
Talk to you soon.
Allison