Question:
Hello Freinds,
My mother died of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in october 2005, Mom went into the hospital for a rash on her arm and not knowing her doctor took some blood work and sent her right to the hospital. well two days later a cancer doctor came in and told us that she had AML we didn't have any idea that they were looking for that. so that came as a big shock for us.
Mom was in the hospital for 7 days then came home were she died 5 days later. We all was with her when she passed. It's so lonely without her.
I'm been having an aching question is how hard is it to diagnose AML? my mother was seeing her doctor every month she was in poor health anyway. she was obest and had a very bad back and was on pain pills for years. I remember my mom telling me that she was so tired. her doctor told her that she is anemic and she was taking Celebrex for years too. but i want to know she was getting blood work done about every few months how did this get missed? I know this wont bring back mom and i'm not going to prosue any legal matters with the doctor i just like to know. Thanks for any help!
Answer:
Hello,
First off, I'm really sorry about your Mom and I'll try to answer as best I can.
AML can develop VERY quickly, so it's possible that it didn't show up in routine bloodwork at the time...a friend of mine who had ALL (different type of leukemia, but similar progression) had at the end of his treatment normal bone marrow, spinal fluid and bloodwork. A month later, at his first check up off chemo, his bloodwork was normal, his spinal fluid was clear but his bone marrow test revealed 10% leukemia cells in his marrow. Within a week of that, and getting more tests to determine the extent of the relapse his marrow was 68% leukemia, white blood cell count was 20,000 (high normal is 10,000) and it had gone into the spinal fluid.
While a preliminiary diagnosis of AML can be made from bloodwork it can only be conclusively diagnosed by bone marrow biopsy, and from there I think it's pretty easy and obvious to diagnosis. Usually at diagnosis there are some major abnormalities in the blood, so given the rash your mom had and the blood results and her age, they probably had a lot of reason to suspect AML.
Answer:
In January of 2003, I began visiting doctors because I was feeling tired all the time, I had a swollen gland in my neck, and I had frequent and painful headaches. The doctors (a family doctor and an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist) said I had recurrent sinus infections. By the time I got a doctor to listen to me when I told them it was NOT just sinus infections, it was the end of March 2003. My trouble was in finding a doctor who would order the necessary blood tests (all I needed was a CBC) to find out that my blood was very out of whack. When I was admitted to the hospital it was as an emergency case..the admitting doctor called me personally and told me to get my rear end to the hospital immediately. I was told that my blood numbers at that time were 'incompatible with life'.
Like you, I didn't understand how I could be misdiagnosed for three months by respected physicians. My oncologist told me that leukemia is difficult to diagnose only because the symptoms that send us to the doctor in the first place are the same as many rather harmless illnesses. Some family doctors, especially those who treat someone on a regular basis, like your mom's monthly visits, only see several chronic illnesses and assume its just getting worse instead of looking for a completely new illness.
I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope this helps.