← Return to Low WBC, Low Platelets, Low RBC, Large cells - is it always Leukemia?

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I talked to my Hematologist today instead of Aug 11th. He has diagnosed me with Low Grade MDS.

WBC 1.5, Platelets 75, Neutrophil .7

No blasts in blood, 2% blasts in bone marrow.

His plan is to not to do anything until it goes from Low Grade to Intermediate Grade or
AML.

Is this the best approach? Is there anything available to raise my numbers or to keep this disease from progressing? Please, I am very upset and confused.

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Replies to "I talked to my Hematologist today instead of Aug 11th. He has diagnosed me with Low..."

This is good news! I know the ‘wait & see’ approach can be scary. But your MDS may remain low grade. If it progresses (that’s ‘if’) then there are treatments available. I’m intermediate MDS B2. Because of that, I will need a stem cell transplant after 4 rounds of Dacogen.
Take care of yourself & try to manage your anxiety. There is nothing we can magically do to change our blood numbers. But I believe in the mind-body connection. Our bodies respond better when our minds are at peace. Try & relax. Did your Dr say how often your blood will be monitored? Take comfort in knowing you will be monitored & thats all you need right now.

@asarnesejr I wish I could put my arm around you and try to get you to relax. I have followed all of your posts and am glad you spoke to your Hematologist and received your diagnosis. Now your journey begins, all is not lost. I am unfamiliar with the term "low grade." Typically the Dr's refer to us as low, intermediate, or high risk. There are different types of MDS. I have del 5q. I started out as low risk. Your results from your initial post showed low RBC. Your hemoglobin and RBC counts are very important. When they drop to a certain point your Dr will start you on treatment. At some point, you will probably talk to a transplant Dr. depending on your age. At this point take some time to wrap your head around all of this. I recommend you go to mds-foundation.org and read the information on mds. There is also an ipss-r or IPSS-M calculator there which you can use to calculate your risk category. Simply input your bloodwork results, any genetic or molecular changes, and blast percentage. Congratulations on the low blast count, that is very good news!

@asarnesejr hello friend,
From what you wrote in your posts , you indicate that you are extremely scared, this fear is not allowing you to take a deep breath, it’s draining your energy,,!!
I also have a fatal diagnosis and prognosis, without taking up time and space , by going into details of my illness, I HONESTLY MAKES MY SELF THINK ABOUT MY GRANDSONS AND IN MY HEAD , I PLAN ON WHAT I NEED TO DO IN MY LIMITED TIME ,
I have DEFINITE DIAGNOSIS AND ITS BEEN CONFIRMED MORE THAN ONCE , my POINT IS
TRY HARD TO DIRECT YOUR THOUGHTS TO OTHER THINGS, EXAMPLE: Go to church , think about and contact friends, family , take a stroll , go to park enjoy the nature , go to a craft shop and get a small art project to do , I play a free game on iPad called BINGO , INSTALL FREE VERSION, I don’t spend one penny, YOU CAN TO PLAY VERY SIMPLE ,, another free game is SOLITAIRE,, there is also Paint by numbers, I have done it many times, There cheap coloring books ,
All these things are free or cheap and help you stay distracted from driving yourself into panic,,
From what wrote , your situation is still stable and has positive potential, please don’t take offense from this
I feel your fear , thinking positive will help you , I PROMISE GOOD LUCK