Re: The hospital

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

I'm sorry to hear of your on going problems. How frustrated and

scared you must be. Is there any way that they can reverse the by-

pass to give you more of a stomach back?

As for the " traditional " chemotherapy, I suspect that they would be

referring to either Hydrea or Interferon.

Hydrea is a pill that basically kills all types of cells (the good

and the bad). It doesn't target the CML cells so the bottom line is

that the CML doesn't really get treated. What does happen, is that

it reduces your blood counts so that they're not out of control.

This will make you feel better for a while but in the end, the

disease will unfortunately progress.

Interferon is a daily injection and has shown to be effective in a

small group of people (around 15%-20%) but with a high rate of

intolerable side effects, including congestive heart failure.

I hope you find some relief soon.

Take care,

Tracey

>

> Hi everyone. Here's the lastest development. I had to be

> hospitalized again yesterday. The Gleevec after having the

gastric

> bypass 3 months ago has been causing errosions in my new pouch. I

> can't take it with food and an 8 ozs of water. My pouch is the

size

> of a man's thumb. It wasn't an ulcer just my stomach lining being

> eaten by the Gleevec. But it continues to cause problems with my

> potassium level. I was discharged this afternoon and my potassium

> level was and still is in the critical zone. Now I have been told

> that I will no longer be allowed to be hooked up at home to a pump

> pumping Potassium/Saline into my system to bring it up. If I take

a

> water pill to get the fluids off my heart (I have congestive heart

> disease)and out of my legs, my kidneys work great, but it also

causes

> my potassium to drop.. Never had a problem in two years of being

on 2

> water pills and 20 Meq of potassium until just after having the

> bypass. Now if I don't take the water pill, it causes the fluid

to

> retain around my heart, lungs, legs, and my kidneys will only put

out

> 50cc of urine a day. My PCP has given me a choice. I can arrange

my

> schedule to have 4-6 hours of Potassium pumped into me at the

Cancer

> center here in town, or move into a nursing home community so

that I

> can be monitured. I am 52 and do not feel like living in a

nursing

> home is the solution. Everytime they take the IV out of my port,

I

> break out in a rash on both hands, arms, up past my elbows. They

> break open and staph infection sets in. If I go off the Gleevec,

I

> will have to go on regular chemo therapy. How will that affect my

> potassium problems, and will it cause the leukemia to go into the

> next stage? I am so confussed that I don't know what to do. I

don't

> understand all this, I just know, that I can't keep anything down

not

> even the potassium pills or powder that is desolved in 4 ozs of

> water. If you know anything about the chemo therapy instead of

the

> pills, besides throwing up more and losing my hair, I would sure

like

> the answers. Thanks Kathy

>