My sister who is 30 yrs old was diagnosed two years ago with Gardners Syndrome, a rare, genetic form of cancer which affects mainly affects the colon. She had her colon and a portion of her small intestines removed and underwent radiation therapy. She has been doing ok since other that the nonmalignant tumors she has throughout her body pushing on various nerves and she is in constant pain and takes heavy duty pain meds and cannot work or drive.
Over the last several weeks she has been under a lot of stress because she was facing the possibility of foreclosure on her house. About 5 days ago she started having a sore throat, which progressed to flu like symptoms. Last night she called me in a panic and said that she had bruises covering her whole body and that she was bleeding from her nose, eyes, gums, etc. So her symptoms came on quite suddenly. The doctor at the hospital admitted her as her platelet count was 6! He said the lowest he had ever seen was in the 50's or 60's. They were givin her platelets today and going to do a bone marrow biopsy as they felt that she had leukemia. Does anyone know if the radiation she received for her first cancer could be the cause of this? She has been a year and a half since the radiation was done. I read somewhere that the more sudden the symptoms and the lower the platelets, the worse the prognosis. Does anyone have any ideas on this. I live in Maine and she is in Florida and I don't know whether I should fly out there now or not. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.
One more question I had to pose to anyone reading this, a bone marrow transplant was something that she could possibly be looking at they told her. I know that they like to check within the family for the best possible matches. Does anyone know if it matters if we only have the same father but different mothers? Our blood types are the same so I am wondering whether or not, should the time come, that I be tested to see if I am a match. Didn't know if you had to be full blooded sisters or not.
Any info anyone could provide me with would be great. I will be talking with her oncologist and hematologist in a few days once the results are in but in the meantime I am wondering what she is up against.
Thanks!