TRAINING and EDUCATION
Patient Education
UNDERSTANDING MDS
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of diseases of the bone marrow
and blood that affect approximately 19,000 people in the United States. Read
below for information about the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
of MDS.
This “Patient Education” tear sheet was produced in collaboration with the
Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation (AA&MDSIF).
What Are the Symptoms of MDS?
The symptoms and the course of MDS may vary greatly
from person to person, depending on which blood cells
are affected and how low the blood counts have fallen.
For instance, if your MDS is in its early stages and your
blood counts are not too low yet, you may have only
mild symptoms. As your blood counts decrease, you will
have more symptoms.
Review the Symptom Checklist (on the back of this
page) and share with your doctor.
How Is MDS Treated?
What Is MDS?
The main goal of MDS treatment is to increase the number of healthy cells in your blood (blood count). When
your blood counts go up, you are less likely to need
blood from a donor (transfusion), your quality of life becomes better, and your symptoms are not as bad.
With MDS, your blood-forming stem cells ar HY