What if the Leukemia Doesn’t Respond or Comes Back After Treatment?
If the leukemia comes back after treatment, it will most often do so in the bone marrow and blood. Once in a while, the brain or spinal fluid will be the first place it returns. If the leukemia had gone away and has now come back, it may be possible to bring about another remission, although most doctors think this remission will be only temporary. In these cases most doctors will consider a stem cell transplant. If the leukemia keeps coming back or doesn’t go away, chemotherapy will finally not be very helpful. If a stem cell transplant is not an option, entering a clinical trial (see section on Clinical Trials) might be a good idea. If neither of these options is the right one, then it may be time to focus on relieving symptoms. The doctor may suggest more mild chemotherapy to slow the growth of the leukemia. If there is pain, then it’s important to treat it with pain killing medicines. Sometimes medicines or blood transfusions are needed to correct low blood counts and tiredness. If
