acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL)?

Question

ive been told i have APL. i think the doctor said its a form of AML leukaemia, although i kinda blanked out after she said i have leukaemia. my mum asked alot of questions but i didnt really listen, it wouldnt sink in, ive only just started to realize its true. does anyone know what APL is and what the chances of remission are (i'm 16 and quite healthy, if that helps), has anyone dealt with leukaemia as a teenager. how bad is chemotherapy gonna be. i tried looking online but it didnt say much APL

i'd really appreciate any answers given.

Answer 1

I don't know anything about this. Go and talk to your Mum she asked the questions and knows the answers - she will be just as worried and confused as you and won't know how to handle all this. Goood luck with everything

Answer 2

I would never want anyone to have leukemia, but if you do, APL is actually one of the best ones to have, because with modern chemotherapy and treatment, it has one of the best long term survival rates.

Here's a bunch of technical stuff you don't necessarily need to understand: It is basically a specific type of AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), M3 in the FAB (French-American-British) classification, or AML with specific cytogenetic abnormality in the WHO (World Health Organization) classification. It has a specific genetic abnormality, translocation of chromosomes 15 and 17 (t15;17; it just means some chromosomes on 15 is moved over to 17), forming an APL-RAR gene, which causes a problem in differentiation and therefore an accumulation of immature bone marrow cells (Promyelocytes, ergo the APL).

What you really need to know from this is that along with chemotherapy, the use of a specific drug called All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid (ATRA), will overcome the genetic abnormality, and therefore has improved the rates of remission and long-term survival (cure).

In regards to how bad the chemo will be: it's going to be typical of induction chemotherapy for other types to acute leukemia. Treatment is over 7 days but you'll need to stay in the hospital for 3-4 weeks, because your bone marrow is going to get wiped out and the healthy marrow will need time to grow back. You'll lose your hair, it will grow back. You may feel sick, nauseous and stuff, but nowadays, there are very good anti-nausea medicines. After this you'll most likely go into remission (meaning the APL will be undetectable) but you'll still need some post-remission therapy, and continue on ATRA for an entire year.

It's a long road, but you should do fine. Good luck.

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear such awful information. There is some information on APL on wikipedia, which states that chemo results in remission in approx 90% of the cases, which is good odds.

My advice would be to make a consultation with the doctor that treated you again, so that he may be able to explain and answer any questions that you may have.

Answer 4

hello-
A month ago my father was diagnosed with apl and is experiencing some side effects from the drugs. But i just wanted to let you know that I know a girl who was diagnosed with APL when she was 16 she is currently 24 and in remission. APL is by far the most curable leukemia. Best of luck.

Answer 5

"The leukemias commonly are classified according to their predominant cell type (i.e., lymphocytic or myelogenoug) and whether the condition is acute or chronic ... The acute leukamias usually have a sudden and stormy onset of signs and symptoms related to bone marrow function ... The warning signs and symptoms of acute leukemia are fatiuge, pallor, weight loss, repeated infections, easy bruising, nosebleeds, and other types of hemorrhage ... Chemotherapy and selective irradiation (e.g, Central Nervous System irradiation) are used in the treatment of acute leukemia. Remission is defined as eradication of leukemic cells as detectable by conventional technology ... Bone marrow transplantation may be considered for persons ... who experience no response to other forms of therapy (199-201)"

From my Essentials of Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States book.

Chemotherapy can lead to dehydration, should report if you feel dizzy, have to rest more frequently, eat more iron-rich food as prescribed, watch injection sites for infectoin, avoid people who are ill with the flu or a cold, hair loss, need to report any sudden headaches, possible bleeding gums, increased bruising, etc.

From my Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary book.

Good luck to you and I hope you get well:) Acute leukemias have a good success rate in getting cured so don't panic:) I hope I didn't scare you but wanted to provide you with the facts here.

Answer 6

I'm very sorry to hear about your condition, I hope this helps you, my cat was diagnosed with leukemia back in November last year and his condition was so bad the vet told me that he wouldn't live past the week, I took him home and put him on two products, 4Life Transfer Factor Advanced (a powerful immuno-builder) and Xango Mangosteen juice also a powerful immuno-builder but it also helps support the growth of healthy red blood cells. Well, over three months later my cat is still with me and he's a lot healthier than he's ever been, thank God, you can find out about Transfer Factor Advanced Formula here:
https://www.4life.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?id1=1&id2=146
and you can find out about Xango Mangosteen Juice here:
http://www.mangosteenhealth101.com
Also one important thing to note is that both of these products are completely safe to take with Chemotherapy and any kinds of medication you need to take (you can read about this at both sites and as for the Xango Mangosteen juice I've read that people have used it during chemo and they didn't have as much problem going through chemo as other people did)

Wishing you the best of luck, hope this helps girl

Heads up

Answer 7

Check out the Luekemia/Lymphoma Society website at
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls

there is a discussion board for patients and survivors in the left hand column. register to be a board member and post your questions there.

I am a member of the Boards,, Kittymom

Answer 8

I have APML and that is a form of AML and depending on your type it depends on your chemoterapy sorry this doesn't really answer the question