Gary, before chemo treatment, the doctor will monitor a patient's WBC count to see if it is at an acceptable level to receive the treatment. The chemical affects our blood count and I know many patients have their treatment deferred because of this. In my case, my WBC count has dropped to a very low level when I finished all the 4 rounds of cisplatin and remained lower than the normal for quite a while and started to rise gradually. I guess it took me about a year post treatment to climb back to the normal level. Every time I had my medical appointment, I had my blood tested and in the following appointment, I would ask my oncologist if it was normal. The effect of low WBC on me was feeling weak, tired even after a night's sleep and feeling cold all day.The whole immune system seems to be weakened. From the Chinese medical point of view, we can improve this by taking more nutritious food. I didn't ask my oncologist about the figure but last year I had a thorough body check up and it stated in the medical report that my WBC was within a normal range. I can check when I go home tonight to see if the figure is given.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.