Are There Any Symptoms/Occurrences That Signal a Change or Progression?
One of the reasons it is important to be monitored and to have periodic bone marrow evaluations is that changes can take place in the bone marrow that are not readily apparent by looking at blood counts or how the patient feels. For example, we have one ET patient in the MPD-NET group who has a tendency to develop mild myelofibrosis (scarring). Both times this has been picked up on bone marrow biopsies. Her May 1996 BMB was prompted by a mild increase in all blood counts including platelets which had been held in check by anagrelide for the past 20 months, headache, a sense of pressure in the spleen area due to spleen enlargement not picked up on manual examination and fatigue. If there is a sudden change in your blood counts, or a gradual shift in either direction, or you start having symptoms that you weren’t there a short while ago-bruising, headache, fatigue, swelling in your legs or abdomen, visual disturbances, headache, unexplained pain, numbness etc., find out what is going on.
