And the Winner is...

I am reporting on my 3-month blood results which I received yesterday from my oncologist. I feel like I am revealing the winner of American Idol, but really all I am doing is telling you who made it to the quarterfinals. This is a long and slow process and my results are only a glimpse into how well the medication is working.

Without further ado, the results were quite good. Several tests were repeated from when I was initially diagnosed. At diagnosis, my blood cells showed that 100% were called Philadelphia Chromosome Positive (PH+). My 3-month results shows that only 22% of my cells were Ph+. That is a big drop and anything under 35% is generally considered a cytogenetic response. The other test I had was called a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. This one measures my RNA and something called the BCR-ABL transcripts (thanks to Anjana for this information). The PCR test is a very sensitive test and my understanding is that it measures the molecular response to the medication. My initial score on this one was 34.56%. Now it is at 10%. That is going in the right direction. A fantastic result would have been a 1-log reduction or 3.45%, but it is not far off. My doctors are much more concerned about the 6 month data. Right now, it is like peeking at the results before the study is complete.

I apologize for the technical jargon and I know that it can be hard to understand. I certainly do not understand much of this. That is why I rely on the CML support groups to help me interpret this information.

Needless to say, my 3-month results are very good and suggest that I am responding well to the Gleevec. At 6 months, these numbers should be even better. By then, I hope to make it to the semifinals.