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Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS): how to increase red blood cells?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Sep 1 6:47pm | Replies (101)Comment receiving replies
My little sister (age 63) was diagnosed with MDS a little over 3 years ago. She began getting weekly injections of Procrit. It raised her hemoglobin to just under a 10 2 months ago. Since then all her counts are falling. Hemoglobin down to 8, wbc & rbc 1.8. She just had a 2nd bine marrow biopsy. Preliminary results look ok but still waiting for a few more test results. Oncology moved her appt up a month. Any ideas what's going on???
Replies to "My little sister (age 63) was diagnosed with MDS a little over 3 years ago. She..."
Hi @pathilt, I just wanted to check in with you to see how your sister is doing. I wrote a response yesterday and wondered if you’d seen it…here’s the link: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1111910/
With your sister’s low WBC, RBC and her hemoglobin of 8, it would be important for your sister to be seen rather soon. As I mentioned before, MDS can progress into a much more aggressive form of blood cancer. When you said Oncology moved her appointment up a month, did you mean that she’ll be seen within a few days? In your sister’s blood work or bone marrow biopsy was there any mention of blast cells?
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Hi @pathilt. Welcome to Mayo Connect! Myelodyplastic Syndromes or MDS are a group of bone marrow diseases which affect how the bone marrow creates healthy blood cells. In your sister’s case, apparently her bone marrow wasn’t producing enough red blood cells. Procrit is a medication that can help the body produce more red cells which has kept your sister’s hemoglobin somewhat elevated.
MDS conditions can evolve or change over time. The Procrit, while it gave your sister more red blood cells, isn’t a treatment for MDS. It is possible that after 3 years, your sister’s condition could be changing and may require a treatment plan to help control any progression.
The bone marrow biopsy will give her doctor an overall picture of how well her bone marrow is working to produce healthy cells.
From my own experience, speculating on why numbers change causes more anxiety than the reality. But I also know waiting is so hard so you both have my empathy. I’m not patient when I want to know my results too!
One note that I would like to make is that your sister’s hemoglobin is at 8, I’m expecting she’s been feeling pretty sluggish and tired. A count of 8 is at or near the critical cutoff for requiring a blood transfusion. Has her hematologist oncologist mentioned having a transfusion?