Re: Low #'s have me worried

June 28, 2004

Narice,

What did the onc say about the counts? I don't want to scare you,

Narice, but the WBC and platelet counts are dangerously low.

Normally,chemo would be witheld so as not to lower them more.At that

low of WBC, he has almost no immunity and needs to be VERY careful of

infection.He would probably not run a fever as there are not enough

white cells to generate one.When platelets are what you have

indicated,usually a transfusion would be in order as this is

dangerously low and could cause excessive bleeding.He needs to be

careful to not bruise or injure himself in any way. Also,check

extremities for small bruises or rash-like markings that could

indicate bleeding under the skin. If I were you,I'd be on the phone

with the onc wanting to know what exactly he is going to do to raise

these levels NOW.

Procrit helps to raise the hemoglobin,and the neulasta helps raise

WBC. There are several different formulas of this type of drug,thus

the various names,neupogen is another.Hubby has been given these off

and on to bring up his WBC. The one he used was given by injection

every day for 5-7 days following his chemo treatments.He experienced

a lot of deep muscle pain/spasms from it but it did the job.So far,he

has not had a problem with platelets,in fact his tend to run on the

high side of normal most of the time.

I'm going to say an extra prayer for you and especially for Phil,that

God will see him through this rough spot in the road.

Hugs & Prayers to All,

H

S/O 'Hubby,52,diagnosed 7/31/03 inoperable stage IV cc

Third-line chemo of Avastin/CPT-11/5FU/LV for 3 mo,

5/20/04 CT scans show significant progression of disease,CEA:1060

6/2/04 started " Plan D " ,Folfox 4

> WBC 1.5 Normal 4.5-11.0

>

> RBC 4.05 Normal 4.3-5.7

>

> Platelets 49 Normal 150-400

>

> I don't want to be OVERLY worried but these are pretty lousy #'s.

> Thank you God he feels good but I am very worried it won't last

long if these

> drops keep up.

> I'm also wondering how much of a chemo break he can have before

there might

> be a problem there.

> He is on Procrit and has had Neulasta. They are talking Neuprogen

but I think

> they mean Neumega (I'll be asking) after the next dose of chemo.

> I am determined to stay positive but I admit I am pretty scared.

>

> Has anyone dealt with this and how have you handled it over the

long haul?

> Thanks,

> Narice

>

June 28, 2004

My numbers were even lower (except the platelets). I was treated with

Procrit and Neupogen and bounced back just fine. The neupogen did

cause back pain though, but that's another story.

Jodi

> Phil's #'s are

>

> WBC 1.5 Normal 4.5-11.0

>

> RBC 4.05 Normal 4.3-5.7

>

> Platelets 49 Normal 150-400

>

> I don't want to be OVERLY worried but these are pretty lousy #'s.

> Thank you God he feels good but I am very worried it won't last long

if these

> drops keep up.

> I'm also wondering how much of a chemo break he can have before

there might

> be a problem there.

> He is on Procrit and has had Neulasta. They are talking Neuprogen

but I think

> they mean Neumega (I'll be asking) after the next dose of chemo.

> I am determined to stay positive but I admit I am pretty scared.

>

> Has anyone dealt with this and how have you handled it over the long

haul?

> Thanks,

> Narice

>

June 28, 2004

Dear, dear Narice. I haven't dealt with low numbers but as you well

know, I've dealt with that above normal CEA which has finally dropped

(and yes, you told me so) to reflect what the scans have been

reflecting. Nevertheless, you know as well as I do from reading my

posts that it has worried me from the get go and does still continue

to do so. How I've dealt with it is to come to this board and listen

to people's advice and try real hard to incorporate what their advice

is into my daily life. I have also done additional reserach on the

Web on CEA numbers, relevance, etc. to calm my fears. Although most

of the material I found did not give me the answers that I wanted to

see, I did find many encouraging things about CEA as well, which I

choose to believe. Narice, if there is anything I can do to help

ease your fears, let me know. Just remember, Phil is in the best of

hands...both here on earth and elsewhere. They are watching him

closely and won't do anything to jeapordize his health. Bert was off

chemo 6 weeks and all was well, okay. I'm here for you.

A BIG, MEGA Hug your way,

Monika

P.S. I know it will soon be my turn to say " I told you so. " :-)

> Phil's #'s are

>

> WBC 1.5 Normal 4.5-11.0

>

> RBC 4.05 Normal 4.3-5.7

>

> Platelets 49 Normal 150-400

>

> I don't want to be OVERLY worried but these are pretty lousy #'s.

> Thank you God he feels good but I am very worried it won't last

long if these

> drops keep up.

> I'm also wondering how much of a chemo break he can have before

there might

> be a problem there.

> He is on Procrit and has had Neulasta. They are talking Neuprogen

but I think

> they mean Neumega (I'll be asking) after the next dose of chemo.

> I am determined to stay positive but I admit I am pretty scared.

>

> Has anyone dealt with this and how have you handled it over the

long haul?

> Thanks,

> Narice

>

June 28, 2004