I have not been technically diagnosed yet because I still have to meet my professor but I had a bone marrow biopsy done and the result showed (was also written by professor) that I probably have a Myeloproliferative Disorder. I have high platelets which led me to believe that I might have Essential Thrombocythemia. When I searched about it, I do have a lot of the symptoms including constant fatigue, night sweats pins and needles in my arms and legs, etc. I have gotten sick often for a while but this time I have to tonsillitis and I can’t seem to heal and I am afraid to goback to work as there are many people and am scared of getting something else too. Has anyone experienced this? Do you have a recommendation to who I need to talk tooo, theGPs don’t seem to know how to help. Should I try to contact the professor?
Hello there @JackandDianne, welcome to the forum. It sounds like you’re experiencing some difficult symptoms and only partial information from a professor so far, which would likely make me pretty anxious in the same position.
We forum members can’t offer medical advice so I’d say the professor is the right person to seek answers from. If you’re in the UK, usually a referral is made by your GP to a hospital haematology department nearby, perhaps you could contact them for further information? If you’re outside the UK, for example the US, the process for diagnosis is a little different and depends on health insurance and whether there are haematologists in your insurance network nearby.
Perhaps you might be interested to know that “myeloproliferative disorder” isn’t a term used anymore, instead it’s been renamed as a group called Myeloproliferative neoplasms ('MPN') which are considered types of blood cancer, including Essential thrombocythemia ('ET') and Polycythaemia vera ('PV') (the latter of which I live with). I’m hesitant to share the Blood Cancer UK information about Myeloproliferative neoplasms ('MPN') as it sounds like you haven’t received a diagnosis.
Perhaps it’s worth bearing in mind that infections and all sorts of non-cancer reasons can affect our blood cells numbers, including platelets. Please hold out hope that you don’t have blood cancer.
I’d suggest trying to contact the specialist who started the testing and ask what you can expect next, what further testing you might need, and anything they can confirm so far. Being in between testing and results can feel very difficult, but seeking answers can really help.
Hope that helps a little @JackandDianne, I’m sorry you’re going through this. Time to contact your specialists I’d say.