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Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Aberrant CD7

Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: Dec 22, 2021 | Replies (41)

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@loribmt

Hello @gaurav1414 Your wife and I shared some of the same mutations that have gotten us into trouble. My hematologist/oncologist called them “the list of usual suspects’. They aren’t common but many seem to occur with each other.
The best thing now is to let the chemo do its job. The protocol your wife is on is the byproduct of years of clinical research and statistics. It’s highly effective in eliminating leukemic cells from the body. I know the mere mention of chemo can put fear into the strongest hearts. But honestly, I actually felt better during chemo since it was killing the cells and the high fever I’d had for 2 weeks previously finally went away!

The 7 + 3 stands stand for:
Cytarabine chemotherapy given in a continuous IV over 24 hours for 7 days.
Then either Daunorubicin or Idarubicin given in the IV over three hours once daily for 3 days.

Around day 14 your wife will have another bone marrow biopsy to check progress. If there is no evidence of leukemia in the biopsy, she may be able to go home when her white blood count returns to normal readings in 4-5 weeks. If there are cells detected she may have another round of induction chemo.

Because I had a high risk of relapse, my long term plan required a bone marrow transplant. But it was a few months out from my chemotherapy induction. So I had to return to my hospital every 28 days for another week of chemo and did that 2 more times. When I had a transplant date, I then went through what’s called Consolidation. Your wife will have that too. The timeframe depends on what her oncologists decide is her best treatment plan.
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Tips for being on chemo!

Encourage your wife to stay as active as possible. Walk as much as she can around the hospital wing. This is vital to keeping a positive attitude and helping her feel better during chemo!

While you’re wife is on this chemo regimen there are changes taking place. Her bone marrow is being wiped clean and she will have a severely impacted immune system.
So she’ll most likely be on antibiotics, antifungal and antiviral medications to act as a temporary immune system for her. Because all the antibiotics deplete our normal gut bacteria, probiotics are important. I ate Activia yogurt daily mixed with some ground flax seed. It really helped avoid the nastier side effects of the antibiotics.

She may become nauseated from the chemo. The nurses are great with offering help with that! There are several meds that work wonders!!

Because of the nature of the chemo, it kills all fast growing cells. So she may also lose the tastebuds on her tongue. Food might be a challenge for taste and consistency.

Extra caution needs to be taken to prevent infections from bacteria or fungus. The hospital will most likely not allow any visitors or fresh plants or flowers. I wasn’t allowed mail unless it was sprayed with disinfectant.

Food such as deli meats, bagged lettuce or artisan cheeses are out of bounds because of too much risk for listeria bacteria. Wash all fruits, including bananas before offering them to your wife.

Her platelets will become dangerously low and she may need several platelets infusions over the course of treatment so don’t be surprised by that.

She may lose her hair…if that is worrisome for her, many of us chemo people are proactive and shave our heads! Gives us some level of control!

I know this is a lot of information. Is this helpful to you? Is there anything specific you’d like to know?

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Replies to "Hello @gaurav1414 Your wife and I shared some of the same mutations that have gotten us..."

Hello Lori - Is your transplant done and how much HLA matching was your donor 10/10. I mean 100% matching. Also can I connect with you over the call?