Hi @lyno29, You posted: “I’m choosing not to do chemo, even though my doctor recommends it. It is my understanding that the cause is unknown and unrelated to my family medical history, rather something triggered in my body. I’m choosing dignity.”
While some drugs for treating myeloproliferative neoplasms such as ET, PV and MF are technically classified as chemotherapy they are not in the same class of meds used to treat aggressive cancers. Anagrelide, used to reduce platelet levels in ET isn’t classified as a chemotherapy drug.

You’re opting to used a homeopathic route to treat the ET with arnica. If you have a acquired mutated gene such as JAK2 and it’s the driver behind your ET, taking arnica, while thinning your blood, will not prevent this condition from progressing and it won’t be a cure. That’s treating the symptoms not the underlying condition. There is also a risk of ET progressing to other more serious conditions such as myelofibrosis which is scarring of the bone marrow or acute myeloid leukemia. Your doctor is using their knowledge, educational background and experience to help you avoid more serious complications.

Arnica can also be a potentially dangerous supplement when taken orally.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/arnica
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Here’s a good article to read through about ET, diagnosis and treatment
https://www.verywellhealth.com/essential-thrombocythemia-2860907
I don’t think of having chemo as losing dignity. I had several rounds of very aggressive chemo 6 years ago and while there were a few months I wouldn’t have won a beauty queen contest, I never lost my dignity. And now I’m cancer free and living a full and active life at 71.

There are millions of people who are alive because of chemo. For some, it’s a deeply personal decision whether or not to go forward with treatment. For people at the end stage of cancer, where there is nothing more to be done, they may opt not to proceed and that is a matter of passing with dignity.

I also respect your decision to not take the medication offered by your hematologist. However, I felt I needed to defend anyone who has made the choice to proceed with chemotherapy or medications their doctor’s have prescribed. It isn’t a matter of losing dignity. It is a matter of choosing hope.

Do you recall on your labs if you have a mutated gene such as Jak2 MPL or CALR that is associated with your diagnosis?