Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are a group of blood disorders where the bone marrow either fails to make mature blood cells, or immature cells build up and crowd out normal cells preventing them from developing normally.

This often results in the bone marrow producing too few blood cells leading to: 1) A low white blood cell count (neutropenia), which can increase the risk of infection; 2) A low red blood cell count (anemia), which may contribute to weakness, fatigue, or shortness of breath; or 3) A low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), which can increase the risk of bleeding. Depending upon the type of MDS, some patients have neutropenia, AND anemia, AND thrombocytopenia.

In newly diagnosed cases of MDS, the causes are not always known. This is sometimes referred to as “de novo” MDS. However, exposure to certain chemicals, radiation, and chemotherapy are known to increase the risk of MDS. When causes are known, this is referred to as "secondary MDS." There are various subtypes of MDS and treatment depends on the specific subtype and risk level. High risk patients may be treated more aggressively than low risk patients. The effectiveness of treatment often depends upon the type of MDS as not all types respond the same way to treatment.

NOTE: Treatment Options listed below are not all-inclusive. Other treatments may be available. ChemoExperts provides drug information and does not recommend any one treatment over another. Only your Doctor can choose which therapy is appropriate for you.

Notice to user: The term chemotherapy, later shortened to “chemo”, originated in the early 1900s from Nobel Prize winning German physician and chemist, Dr. Paul Erlich. Dr. Erlich defined chemotherapy to mean “the use of chemicals as a therapy to treat disease.” (Source). Many years later, the term became synonymous with the use of chemicals to treat cancer specifically. Because early cancer therapies became quickly known for their severe side effect profile, the term chemotherapy took on a negative connotation. If we fast forward several decades, the anti-cancer therapies used today have become refined, and for many diseases, treatment can be safely taken in the comfort of your own home.

As chemotherapy has become particularly targeted, certain side effects have lessened, while new side effects have emerged. However, the premise behind therapy, that is using a chemical to kill cancer, has not changed. Therefore, the clinicians who created ChemoExperts.com believe the term “chemotherapy” still very much applies to all anti-cancer medications, but importantly, can no longer suggest what, if any, side effects a patient is likely to experience. For this to become clear, education regarding each individual drug, as well as information derived from the use of combination therapy (multiple chemo medications) is required. As a result, we have structured our website to make it easier for users to learn about cancer treatment and hope that if you are taking or receiving chemotherapy, that ChemoExperts.com is able to provide you with the tools needed to make the journey a little easier and life more rewarding.