Over the next 5 weeks I will be staying at Banner Gateway to receive treatment for the AML
- "Induction;" the first phase of treatment. 4 days of chemotherapy (24 hrs/day); started the evening of 11/10
- Bone marrow biopsy 10 days following completion of chemo ~11/24
- If less than 5% blasts (the bad cells), we wait another 14 days to do another BMB
- If more then 5% blasts, more chemo
- If 2nd BMB still shows 5% or fewer blasts, we move on to "consolidation."
- Consolidation is another round of chemo; its intent is to kill thesmall number of leukemia cells that are still around but cannot be seen because there are so few of them.
- "Maintenance." Getting a low dose of chemo drug for months or years after consolidation is finished. Only used for a certain classification of AML, M3, which has the best prognosis of all the AML types.
Me on day 1 of chemo, 11/10/2012.
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