Unlike Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), Acute
Myeloid Lymphoma (AML) does not affect just older individuals. It is the most
common form of leukemia in adults and has similar symptoms to CLL, but is not a
chronic disease so it frequently targets young adults (ages between 20 and 40).
At the clinic, there a man in his thirties had been diagnosed with an
aggressive form of AML. At first, doctors decided to use the wait and watch
method to see if the disease worsened. Eventually, they decided that the best
form of treatment to use was a stem cell transplant. During the appointment,
they discussed possible donors and chemotherapy treatment needed after the
procedure to help him recover from the stem cell transplant. The man was told
that the drugs necessary for his treatment would most likely harm his ability
to reproduce, and as you can imagine, he and his wife did not take the news
happily. Of all the patients with difficult stories that I have been able to
meet, this patient’s dilemma was the most impactful because of how young he was.
Watching a new, young couple being told that they may not be able to have their
own children put me in a state of sorrow like none of the other patients’
stories had.
As for the evaluation of the treatment for the patients
with Relapsed/ Refractory CLL, the two patients’ data is enough to know how
long the treatment process is. One patient was unfortunately unable to complete
treatment, so the study is only of two patients. Both patients are female over
the age of 65 that were diagnosed with CLL from two to three years ago. The
first patient’s White Blood Cell (WBC) count never reached the level of the
second patient, yet had much more swollen lymph nodes. Patient one was
previously diagnosed with Small Lymphocytic Leukemia (SLL) in 2003, yet returned
in the form of CLL. Her treatment began immediately due to the occurrence of
symptoms like weight loss and lymphadenopathy. Although patient two’s WBC count
was twice as large as patient one’s, her treatment started a year after
diagnosis because she did not have extreme lymphadenopathy. The two patients’
treatment is continuing, yet as of now patient one has had a partial response
to the novel treatment and patient two had a complete response to the
treatment.
Thank you all for taking time to read my blog. Again,
if you have any questions, please leave a comment. Otherwise, have a great day!
