Leukemia and Uterine Fibroids?

I usually don't like asking health questions on the net, but I am trying to do research and this situation is very hard to find. My mother just found out she has uterine fibroids that are very large. I know that a lot of women have these, but my mom also has leukemia. This leaves out the option for surgery since she can't be around germs in a hospital (due to low immunity.) The doctors are speaking to each other right now about the option of taking a medicine for the fibroids along with the chemo pill, Gleevec. Are there any concerns or side effects this will have? Please only give serious responses, I am very concerned. Thank you.

Check out the drug Lupron and Femara. I have HUGE uterine fibroids...along with uterine sarcoma unfortunately. I am on chemo to shrink the tumors and also Lupron (shot every 3 months) to sort of shut down the whole area. Of course only her Dr. could say if this is appropriate for your mom, but it's worth looking into. Good luck.

imatinib (gLEEVEC)works by blocking an abnormal enzyme characteristic of the disease. In GIST, imatinib blocks a different abnormal enzyme found on the tumor cells. Imatinib is the first approved drug to directly turn off the signal of a protein known to cause a cancer. Other molecular-targeting drugs previously approved by the FDA interfere with proteins associated with other cancers, but not with proteins that directly cause the disease.

Side Effects include but are not limited to
yellowing of the skin or eyes, abdominal pain, dark urine, or pale stools that may indicate liver problems;
decreased white blood cells (fever, chills, or signs of infection);
decreased blood platelets (unusual or prolonged bleeding or bruising or black, bloody, or tarry stools); or
an unexpected rapid weight gain, swelling, or water retention.
Other less serious side effects may occur more frequently.
nausea or vomiting;
muscle or joint pains;
a skin rash;
diarrhea;
tiredness;
fever;
heartburn or stomach pain; or
headache.

Gleevec has been shown to have very good results in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. See :

http://www.gleevec.com/info/cml/index.js...

I don't know how it would react with the medicine for the fibroids, but hopefully this will help some. From what I saw in the previous answer, it doesn't seem like Gleevec's side effects are much different from regular chemo. I'm sorry your family is having to go through this. My mom had Acute Myeloid Leukemia, so I know how hard it can be.

I lived with uterine fibroids for about 10 years before having them removed.

They were slowly growing, and the symptoms gradually worsened, but as they were non-cancerous, they weren't going to kill me.

Hopefully your mother's are also benign, and she can live with the symptoms and discomfort they are causing until her leukemia goes into remission and makes fibroid removal a viable option.