Acute myeloid

[CountryHarbour]

My mother was diagnosed with AML on Valentine's day in 2017 she died 6 months later . I know it says CLL doesn't transform to AML but I can't help but worry it might . Maybe she had CLL first ...

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

It's way more probable that you have familial CLL. With familial CLL, blood relatives have a higher risk of blood cancers in general - not necessarily CLL.

Neil

[Spark_Plug]

I'm sorry this distresses you. My paternal grand parents died from heart attack (47) and stroke (52). I spent my life in fear that those were the ages I'd be checking out. My father died at (80) two years later I get diagnosed with CLL at (54).

So, I beat a self-imposed curse, only to find out hey I'm mortal, so now I just live carefully and enjoy each day for it is a gift.

[LeoPa]

If she had CLL first you'd have known, no? IMO it is unlikely that someone has CLL, doesn't know about it, and before CLL is discovered, it already transforms into AML. That's on my list of very unlikely things 🙂

[Pearlpink]

You are bound to worry because it must have been such a shock with your mum, but I would agree with the others that it’s very very rare and unlikely.

In my family, in two generations, we had five people with blood cancers, so it sounds as if I fit into the familial blood cancer group.

4 of us have or had CLL . We all did pretty well! The CLL cancers are of lymphoid origin.

One had polycythaemia rubra vera (PVC)about50 years ago. That is one of the myeloid blood cancers. That was much more agressive and in the days of virtually no treatment. Now there are some treatments.

None of us ever transformed into anything else. I might be wrong but I’m sure I’ve heard that those with familial CLL (ie runs in family) tend to have a better form of CLL generally.

I feel lucky that other members of my family had CLL and lived virtually normal lives, whereas you have had a terrible experience with your mums illness. CLL is very different. There are so many amazing treatments in the pipeline.

Feel like I want to give you a big hug 🤗