Hello, anavleek. An ET diagnosis is really scary, especially since you'd probably never realized such whacky things can happen to our blood.

This forum is where you can learn all about ET and HU. Just use the search bar at the top of this page to find discussions on any question you may have.

As you will see, some people do have side effects from HU.

But for most of us, it's magic.

HU has been used for decades, not just for ET and other blood cancers, but also for sickle cell anemia and some mouth and throat cancers. It is relatively inexpensive and it's widely available.

Did I want to take a chemo drug? No! I was scared to death to take that first capsule.

But as HU began bringing down my platelet count, and giving me my energy back, I started realizing how lucky we are to have a drug that works for us.

When I was diagnosed, my oncologist told me that not only was ET making me exhausted, it was depleting my bone marrow. You have to take this diagnosis seriously. No supplement or diet change will address the mutations that trigger ET. But HU works.

I like to take my HU and aspirin with milk, and I never take meds on an empty stomach.

Please let us know how you're doing. You're among friend here.