Health before transplant is an important part of understanding patients’ recovery and well-being after transplant

In general, doctors use only results of medical tests to predict the outcomes for patients after a BMT. Asking a patient to assess their own health may be just as useful as these tests. 

The news is from a study of more than 1,000 adults who got a BMT in the US during 2004-2014. The people had a variety of different diseases: leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other blood diseases. 

Everyone answered questionnaires about their health twice: before they prepared for BMT and 1 year after BMT. These 30-50 item questionnaires measured: 

People’s responses about their physical function and overall health before transplant were linked to their health 1 year after transplant. Their answer to 1 question was just as important: “In general, would you say your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” 

This is useful, because it is often hard for patients to complete long surveys during the very busy time before their BMT. 

Questions about self-reported health are an important addition to the other factors that help doctors to counsel a patient about what to expect after BMT. More research on quality of life with larger groups of patients is needed. 

Ask your doctor about possible benefits and harms of treatments. Also, your doctor may refer you to therapies that improve your quality of life, such as physical therapy, nutrition, counseling, and more.