symptoms & diagnosis - Leukemia Message Board

donita · 05-01-2002, 11:35 AM

I'm a 38 year old female scheduled to see an oncologist on Monday for diagnosis. Pretty sure I have it. Can anyone tell me based on the symptoms which one it might stand out as? I have no health insurance so trying to minimize testing costs as much as possible. Also, can you tell whether it's in an acute or chronic stage? Lastly, what do most leukemia patients die of as a result of the disease? Pneumonia? My symptoms (which I have had for the last few years) are constant fevers (often now), easy bruising, bleeding gums (almost all the time now), fatigue, chronic respiratory problems. I have some other strange symptoms which not sure attributable or not which include constant eye twitches. I don't have any joint pain yet, but having some headaches (although that could be anything). Also, I live in Chicago by myself dealing with this. Can anyone recommend a good support group, online or otherwise? Thanx.

Paraclete · 05-02-2002, 07:43 PM

You are going to have to wait and see the Onchologist. Have you had a bone marrow biopsy done yet? Only your Onc will be able to tell you what type of Leukemia you have. Hang in there.

Jay

Jay Tor · 05-03-2002, 12:32 PM

Once you've obtained a diagnosis, visit the NIH clinical trials Web site to see if there's a clinical trial for your particular cancer. Usually, participants of NIH-sponsored clinical trails do not have to pay as much, if at all, for the tests and treatments performed as part of the clinical trial.
[url="http://www.nci.nih.gov/clinical_trials"]http://www.nci.nih.gov/clinical_trials[/url]

Another benefit of participating in NIH-sponsored clinical trials is that the researchers, hospitals and doctors running these trials are among the best in their respective fields. And, often these trials include the leading research facilities in several countries. We live in Canada and our child participated in an NIH-sponsored POG (Pediatric Oncology Group) clinical trial.

There are organizations that can help you obtain prescription drugs; check the National Cancer Institute's patient resource guide. As well, some pharmaceutical companies specializing in cancer research/ therapies have patient support programs whereby patients can obtain meds.