Making the Decision to Have Chemotherapy for CML

Chemotherapy is no longer the preferred treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, your doctor may recommend it if any of these cases applies to you.

• You are getting ready to have a stem cell transplant. Chemotherapy is used to kill leukemia cells in your bone marrow before transplant.

• Your leukemia is in the chronic, accelerated, or blast phase, and none of the treatments are working. In this case, chemotherapy is used to ease symptoms rather than to try and cure CML.

• Your leukemia is in the blast phase, and you're taking Gleevec (imatinib).

• Your leukemia has relapsed, and none of the other treatments have worked. In this case, chemotherapy is still experimental.