AML/ALL can you have both??

clairmccormack
clairmccormack Member Posts: 9
edited March 2014 in Leukemia #1
My mom was recently diagnosed with leukemia but they said her cells showed up with AML and ALL and that it is acting more like ALL but they are treating as if AML. I'm nervous and curious if anyone has ever heard of having both types?? She has been in the hospital for 6 weeks now and is waiting for her neutrophil and white counts to rise they have been stuck at 0.5. Anyone know how long is takes for them to rise?? what is typical? I am very new to this because we have no history of cancer in our family and my mom is very healthy and eats organic.. i dont know how this happened... we just keep praying that she has a miracle. I am getting married in 4 weeks from today... and I want her to be there. Any success stories are much appreciated.

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  • Kiran
    Kiran Member Posts: 3
    #2
    hey..i am an ALL patient. i
    hey..i am an ALL patient. i have been on chemo -the induction phase for the past one month. after two cycles my counts went very low, so they delayed the third cycle. my Dr. said that counts are low coz of sensitivity to the chemo, which is a good sign in one way. anwya as my counts were not recovering as they shud have been normally, they did a bone marrow aspiration to find out what was happening miway in the induction pd. my bone marrow is clear so i am in remission. i am scheduled for my 4th cycle of chemo omorrow which will be the last in teh induction phase. even i am doing ok in my chemo ..with not very high adverse effects except a bit of nausea and loss of appetite after the 3rd cycle. but i still dread vincristine, which i think makes me feel lousy..though i recover after 2 days.
  • marie31
    marie31 Member Posts: 1
    #3
    aml/all
    I think they call it biphenotypic or something. I had them both also. No cancer runs in my family so it was a shock. I was 31 years old and very healthy also. I had a bone marrow transplant and am now in remission (just over a year).
    I wish I had some info on what, why or how. All I know is that it can be kicked in the butt!!! Tell your mom to keep fighting!
    Let me know if you have other q's about it. Sorry I cant be more help
  • clairmccormack
    clairmccormack Member Posts: 9
    #4
    marie31 said:

    aml/all
    I think they call it biphenotypic or something. I had them both also. No cancer runs in my family so it was a shock. I was 31 years old and very healthy also. I had a bone marrow transplant and am now in remission (just over a year).
    I wish I had some info on what, why or how. All I know is that it can be kicked in the butt!!! Tell your mom to keep fighting!
    Let me know if you have other q's about it. Sorry I cant be more help

    hey... i am curious where
    hey... i am curious where you recieved your treatment? We were at sloan but they say that chemo has no effect on her leukemia anymore. Looking for other options and would love to hear where you went. Thank you for the response!
  • memeto
    memeto Member Posts: 2
    #5
    My mom is both AML & PH+ALL
    Hi...I am still in shock and i do not know what to do, it is like a nightmare. My mom is 54 years old. 3 weeks ago the doctors tested her blood and did a biopsy and the result is both AML & PH+ALL. As soon as we got the bad results, we hospitalized her to a hospital and the doctors started her first tour of chemo and also gave her some extra medicanes like Glevec for PH+. Now the first tour is finished and the doctors are waiting her marrow to react to see how the cure is going on. By the way they took blood tissues from my aunts to see if their tissues are similar to my mom to start planing the marrow transplant.
    The doctors say the ratio of being both AML & PH+ALL in all leucemia is %5. Besides they say that her chance to recover totally from this disease without any marrow transplant is %20 and with marrow transplant is %35. Thus they say her illness is the worst of worse in all leucemia :(((
    Does she have any chance to recover completely or max. how many years she can live?
    Please reply me if you know somebody suffered from this disease.
  • memeto
    memeto Member Posts: 2
    #6

  • nempark
    nempark Member Posts: 681
    #7
    memeto said:

    My mom is both AML & PH+ALL
    Hi...I am still in shock and i do not know what to do, it is like a nightmare. My mom is 54 years old. 3 weeks ago the doctors tested her blood and did a biopsy and the result is both AML & PH+ALL. As soon as we got the bad results, we hospitalized her to a hospital and the doctors started her first tour of chemo and also gave her some extra medicanes like Glevec for PH+. Now the first tour is finished and the doctors are waiting her marrow to react to see how the cure is going on. By the way they took blood tissues from my aunts to see if their tissues are similar to my mom to start planing the marrow transplant.
    The doctors say the ratio of being both AML & PH+ALL in all leucemia is %5. Besides they say that her chance to recover totally from this disease without any marrow transplant is %20 and with marrow transplant is %35. Thus they say her illness is the worst of worse in all leucemia :(((
    Does she have any chance to recover completely or max. how many years she can live?
    Please reply me if you know somebody suffered from this disease.

    Hi Memeto
    Hi my daughter was just diagnosed with ALL. She has started the induction. I am so sorry to hear of your mom's prognosis, but really with good treatment your mom can recover or at least have a good many years left. No one knows when and how long we have. I feel your fears and I really wish I had more comforting words for you. I really do understand how you feel. I was in total shock when my daughter was diagnosed. I cried and cried but when you stop and think, this is what life is --- laughter and tears, life and death fortunately, we have more laughter and joy in our lives than sadness. Please do your best for your mom love her and tell her how much you love her. Medicine today is great and most likely the Doctors will come up with another treatment. please let us know how mom is doing. All the best. J
  • nempark
    nempark Member Posts: 681
    #8
    clairmccormack said:

    hey... i am curious where
    hey... i am curious where you recieved your treatment? We were at sloan but they say that chemo has no effect on her leukemia anymore. Looking for other options and would love to hear where you went. Thank you for the response!

    Clairmccormack
    Hi I would like to know how your mom is doing and how you are doing. I know it is a while back that you posted. Please let us know how she is doing. j
  • anjanette
    anjanette Member Posts: 1
    #9
    memeto said:

    My mom is both AML & PH+ALL
    Hi...I am still in shock and i do not know what to do, it is like a nightmare. My mom is 54 years old. 3 weeks ago the doctors tested her blood and did a biopsy and the result is both AML & PH+ALL. As soon as we got the bad results, we hospitalized her to a hospital and the doctors started her first tour of chemo and also gave her some extra medicanes like Glevec for PH+. Now the first tour is finished and the doctors are waiting her marrow to react to see how the cure is going on. By the way they took blood tissues from my aunts to see if their tissues are similar to my mom to start planing the marrow transplant.
    The doctors say the ratio of being both AML & PH+ALL in all leucemia is %5. Besides they say that her chance to recover totally from this disease without any marrow transplant is %20 and with marrow transplant is %35. Thus they say her illness is the worst of worse in all leucemia :(((
    Does she have any chance to recover completely or max. how many years she can live?
    Please reply me if you know somebody suffered from this disease.

    To Memeto...Biphenotypic Leukemia
    In 1990, two weeks after my 20th birthday, I was diagnosed with acute biphenotypic(ambiguous lineage)leukemia,(Both Acute myelogenic and lymphocytic). At which time the ratio was approximately 2 percent of all leukemias, I was blessed to have been given a proper diagnosis before I received any treatment. That year I was an impatient at Stanford Un Hosp. for 188 days. My induction lasted 32 days but was successful in achieving remission. Then Re-consolidation was for 3 days, which occurred two months following induction. There was not a match found within my siblings or parents for the BMT I would need to be cured, however a match was found on the international registry in the Netherlands, (I am in the united states). He agreed to be my donor and in September 1990, only 6 months after diagnosis, I received his marrow and although it was a very rough road with many complications I am alive and have had no relapse or rejection! Amen! This September will be 22 years cured from biphenotypic leukemia~ Amazing things can happen if you believe in yourself and you believe in God! My prayers go out for your mother during this difficult battle, God Bless! Please contact me if there's anything you want to know, I will be more then happy to try to help... Take Care Anjanette Atkins (a.atkins1970@att.net)

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