It's been so effective that people are living much longer than six years. And, in fact, dying of other conditions. Because CML usually affects older people, one could die of heart disease or stroke, for example. But, I wonder... what about those who are diagnosed younger? Do they get to go on another forty or fifty years without the leukemia taking over? Will the medication continue to work for that amount of time? I guess that remains to be seen.
To clarify matters, I am not taking Gleevec for my CML. I am taking Sprycel, otherwise known as Dasatinib, which is sort of like the grandchild of Gleevec. In other words, more advanced.
I'm a little bit confused about when Dasatinib was approved for CML as the first drug to be issued to a newly diagnosed CML patient. I find evidence that it was approved only under certain circumstances, such as for a patient who has already tried Gleevec and another related drug called Tasigna.
Within a couple months of starting Sprycel, my leukemia was in remission and so far has stayed that way. Now, that might make it seem like I no longer have leukemia, but that is not exactly the case. It's sort of like saying that a person with a diagnosis of diabetes who has great control of it is in remission, but not cured. Do you see what I mean? So, today I contemplate the fact that I have been given the gift of life for this last two years. Thank you to the scientists who did diligent research in order to create Sprycel. And a great THANK YOU to all those who funded that research!
I've included these pictures of my cat, Chica who, ironically, died of Feline Leukemia last Tuesday. I wonder if she had been given Sprycel, would she have survived?
I approved this comment because I want people to know emilywalsh688 might be a scammer. When I googled her email address, there were 407 responses with this same message she wrote to me on other people's cancer blogs.
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