Just diagnosed with AML

I was just diagnosed with AML last week. Very scared. My doctor wants to go straight to a bone marrow transplant, which now after reading some other posts, I wonder why he does not want to try chemo first. My blasts are still very low, so it is not like it has progressed too far yet. Only 5% possibly 10%. We are checking to see if my sister is a match. He said he may have to give me chemo first as a "cooling off period" before the transplant. He also said I WANT to get graft versus host, which I don't understand either since everywhere I look says that is not a good thing. Can anyone give me advice here? I am only 27 and got this horrible disease due to taking a drug called Imuran for another chronic illness I have. Which, I might add, had a VERY low chance of occurring.

My 29 year old son was diagnosed with AML 4 months ago.  I hope you have a good support system to help you through the treatment decisions, etc. you'll be faced with, but venting, questioning, communicating on this board will help too.

From what I understand, a MILD form of graft v host is good because the host cells will attack leukemia cells in your body (as well as the good cells, but that's why a mild, not severe, form is good.)

Your doctor may be recommending a transplant at this early stage because of genetic markers that may have been present in your bone marrow.  Did he/she mention anything about chromosome abnormalities?  These abnormalities show up in about half of AML patients and sometimes disappear after induction chemo.  The type of chromosome change is an indicator of how effective chemo alone can be expected to be.  

I'm no expert, but I haven't heard of this approach either.  But certainly DO NOT take my word for it.  If your oncologist can't/won't explain why he's going straight to a transplant, maybe you need a second opinion. 

Please write on this board again and let us know how things are progressing.  We all need each other.