Newly Diagnosed
If you or someone you know has recently been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or a myeloproliferative disorder (also called myeloproliferative neoplasm, or MPN), you're probably thinking hard about what to do next. Educating yourself and understanding the various treatment options that are explained on these pages is a good start. However, your most important decision is selecting a center where you would like to get treatment.
Choosing Your Treatment Center
Several studies of other diseases, such as lymphoma, have shown that the first treatment you receive is by far the most important. The same appears to be true for MDS and MPN. That's why your first choice of a treatment center needs to be the right one.
Patients who begin their treatment at SCCA often have better outcomes than patients who started treatment elsewhere, probably because of the attention we give to making sure the diagnosis is correct. Neither MDS nor MPN is a single disease. Rather they are a collection of diseases. Through ongoing research, we are working to better understand the underlying mechanisms for the various subtypes and which treatment options are best suited for each.
Our team provides state of the art evaluation, including new research tools to pinpoint your diagnosis and determine where you are in the spectrum of MDS and MPN.
Your Long-Range Management Plan
Once your diagnosis is established, it’s important to develop an individualized long-range management plan. This means considering everything medical science has to offer you and determining how the various options should be used in your particular situation—including the optimum time to use each option. Your plan should also reflect how your disease is likely to progress, how your team will monitor disease progression and what can be done if your disease reaches an advanced stage, when more aggressive treatment might be indicated.
At SCCA, we take this long-range management approach with our patients. You can expect expertly delivered standard care as well as access to therapies being explored in clinical research studies conducted at SCCA and its parent organizations, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine, and often at other centers across the nation. ? ?
We view treatment as a collaborative team effort. Your doctors will discuss all options with you and offer you a plan for the long-range management of your particular disease. Your plan will be individualized to you and take into account your general health, lifestyle, and personal preferences.
Make an Appointment
To make an appointment, please call us at (800) 804-8824 (toll-free), (206) 288-SCCA (7222) or (206) 288-1024, or ask your doctor to call us to talk about your condition and treatment options.
Patient Power Interviews
Many of our doctors have been interviewed on Patient Power, a talk show that connects SCCA medical experts with patients on a variety of topics, including treatments for MDS and MPN. Listen, for example, to the web cast below.
Nonmyeloablative Mini Transplants – February 7, 2008
I have also given such an interview – why not add it?
Dr. Rainer Storb explains what nonmyeloablative transplants are and who may benefit, including some patients with MDS.
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