26-04-2017, 04:09 PM
11
Re: Chronic Leukemia
My wife had CMML ( Chronic MyeloMonocytic Leukemia). She probably had it for a long time but it was only diagnosed after having by-pass surgery for a heart condition and her wounds (particularly where the took the vein out of her leg) never healed up. Blood tests carried out revealed her condition.As each type of leukaemia is different, different treatments are administered. In my wife's case, this was a daily dose in tablet form of hydroxyurea and as this drug isn't particular what blood cells it kills off, a monthly blood check was carried out and if needed, she was given a top-up of red blood cells and plasma. She also had to take another drug the name of which escapes me to flush out the accumulation of urea crystals which could have caused her to have gout.
Because of a monumental cock-up by the local hospital on one occasion she ended up in the hospital for over a month while they tried to keep her alive the usual `top-up` having been missed. The normal hydroxyurea wasn't working so they tried a new drug designed for the treatment of a different form of the disease (CML) called Glivec (Gleevec) and this did the trick. She was put on this drug until she died after a stroke some five years after diagnosis.
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