My mother had polycythemia, a type of blood/bone cancer, which lasted for a good 30 years. At first she needed to have blood taken out (and thrown away) because there were too many red blood cells in it. Over the years it eventually turned into leukemia. As the article indicates, she died one night from a complication, bleeding in her lungs.
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This week in the Times I found this article interesting because Sekeres shines a light on what not everyone would know about cancer. Someone really closed to me died of cancer and reading this article I know more about the topic and why. This article also shows an advance in medicine within the past few decades. It makes sense now with all the technological advances in the medicine field, for example now there are more antibiotics. Which does not sound that effective but now a patient they will not get as sick.
For example when someone with cancer gets the flu they do not have enough antibodies to fight off the virus so they end up dying. I really liked how this week I found something that shows how much we have improved in the medical field.
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The statistics you site about survival appear to be an aggregate of all types of leukemia. The 5 year survival rates for AML are much poorer although they've improved since mother died in 1996. Now they're about 24%, back then they were around 15%.
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A direct expansion of this story would be to include the bone marrow cancers known as myeloprolific neoplasms or MPNs This group includes essential thrombocythemia (overproduction of platelets), polycythemia vera (overproduction of red blood cells) and myelofibrosis (fibrotic destruction of bone marrow). ET and PV prognosis paths are transition to MF. Less common than the leukemias mentioned, MPN-produced death is also an outcome of changes to the bone marrow.
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This is a question at the back of the minds of patients and those who know them-- a question that isn't usually asked and answered so directly.
I had a good sense of the danger of infections to those with leukemia, but what kind pf process was going on in the bodies of people I knew with multiple myeloma seemed a mystery.
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@cheryl
As a Multiple Myeloma patient I find the International Myeloma Foundation to be especially helpful with most questions concerning the disease (link to the site is below). They can help clear up some of the mystery of how the disease affects the immune system, something that is of great importance. The thing to keep in mind is that everyone's different and that outcomes and survival rates vary greatly.
https://www.myeloma.org/
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As a person with leukemia -CML , I can tell you that the TKIs mentioned in the article are a miracle drug. I am in my 4th year with CML, but my leukemia is completely undetectable and my life is normal. I have even ran the Chicago Marathon since I was diagnosed and finished it. Trials are underway now to see if those of us who have positive results from the TKIs can be removed from the drugs. So far, about 50% are doing well after stopping the drugs. Hopefully long term results will continue this trend.
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@TRA: I wish you good health with a long life.
I lost my father to multiple myeloma in 1999 and he was a a hemotologist, a very bitter pill for our family to swallow, as he'd saved other blood cancer patients but couldn't save himself.
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@TRA
May your good health and enjoyment of life continue!
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I was diagnosed with Leukemia 9 months ago. Right away I said no to a needle biopsy, and a full under arm biopsy of my lymph. I decided to eliminate from my diet: sugar, alcohol, red meat, and become mostly vegetarian. In addition, I went on a course of 4 grams Turkey Tail mushroom (has cured breast cancer). I reduced my stress level. On month 8, I had a second complete blood testing including the markers for leukemia. All my blood work was normal, and the one of concern, was halved! I am now very close to normal. Enlarged lymphs are all gone. Energy returned at month 7. I now walk 4 miles a day when I can without a problem.
Turkey Tail is being tested for prostate cancer now. Also, consider Laetrile, which has been around for a very long time, just not available in the U.S. You can go to Mexico, Asia, or Germany and get it though. It is alleged to work on all cancers, but they do combine it with the life style that I mention I went on above. I wanted to try a non invasive method first, not last, when all chemo is exhausted and I'm a physical wreck. That no sugar, and alcohol? My blood pressure dropped from dangerous to fabulous, I lost weight. The Truth About Cancer is a good book to read.
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@Kate Wallace
It was my understanding that Steve Jobs has slightly poorer results from a similar approach.
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For acute leukemias such as AML the survival rate especially in older people is very poor. My husband who was extraordinarily healthy and 63 died in 4 months of AML. There are only two courses of chemo available and if they don't put you in significant remission no stem cell transplant is possible. My husband had several perfect matches for transplants . It didn’t matter.
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@eileen I know it's been nearly a year since your response to this article. I did find it informative- my mommie passed away just a few weeks ago, 3/18/19 with AML. She was 72 and literally it perfect health. She was diagnosed Sept 2018 and was gone March 2019. My family and I are left devastated and confused. I know age is a factor, but did you ever feel your husbands doctors didn't ask all questions, and possibly missed out on providing different course of treatment?
Thank you,
Lynsay
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This article does not mention bone marrow transplants, a standard treatment that can be very effective.
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Fascinating topic. Suggest it be expanded over time to cover death from a wide variety of diseases and illnesses.
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Cancer research has been biased by the interests of pharmaceutical industry, and yet government research is powerless. There are interesting academic cancer researches going on such as "cancer is mitochondrial metabolic disease, not gene mutation disease," by the group of scientists led by Dr. Thomas N. Seyfried of Boston College, and " Fasting mimicking diet induces autophagy, protection, stem cell regeneration" by the group of scientists led by Dr. Walter Longo of University of Southern California. Both groups are focusing on ketogenic effect on both cancer cells and healthy cells, and their researches do not require medicines and do require fasting to create ketosis. Therefore, there are no support from mainstream oncology scientists. They rather want to pursue creation of miracle medicines that treat symptoms instead of curing various cancers. And it seems that these two groups of scientists don't talk each other even though they are coming so close each other.
"Cancer as a metabolic disease: implications for novel therapeutics"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941741/
"The Fasting Mimicking Diet allows the natural process of starvation (autophagy, protection, stem cell regeneration) to occur. ... That's a key of the Fasting Mimicking Diet.” – Dr. Valter Longo.Jun 2, 2018https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4509734/
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