Last week, I had a large panel of blood work done for my endocrinologist and my PCP. Neither of these doctors are in the same system as my cancer team (2 different hospital systems).

The good news is that my thyroid is back in action after my TSH spiked to 40, due to me trying to schedule my Synthroid at times when it would not interfere with other meds that I take...I failed at that one, so now I set my alarm for 6 AM and take my Synthroid...about 2.5 to 3 hours before I take my other morning meds.

Getting to my issue..

I had a CBC (complete blood count) and my WBC (white blood cells) were low...about 10-15 thousand/microliter lower than the low end of the acceptable range.

Also, my lymphocyte/monocyte ratio was 0.57 thousand/microliter, whereas 0.99 is the low end of the acceptable range.

I immediately put a call into my MO to alert her of this and to get an explanation, but I have not heard back from her (I called last Friday).

I put a call into my PCP and there are several reasons why one might have these low values: viral infection (which I do not have/have not had recently), chemoradiation (did not specify if it was only CURRENTLY undergoing or LATE EFFECTS of chemoradiation), autoimmune disease (don't have to my knowledge), lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, and a few others.

My PCP forwarded the results to my medical oncologist, who is a hematologist, as well. I know I'm not her only patient, of course, but when you are THE patient, it feels like forever when you are worried about the test results of something...especially me who had anxiety/depression at baseline and 2 bouts of cancer and motherhood have made these issues skyrocket.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has a low WBC as part of their "new normal". I am 2 years and 3 months out of treatment with chemoradiation. While in treatment, I was hospitalized for 2 weeks due to neutropenia. My counts weren't coming up fast enough on their own, so I had one or two shots of Neupogen which did the trick.

I have a follow up appointment with my PCP this Friday. I hope to hear something from my MO by then. I know we aren't doctors and I'm not looking for medical advice, just asking if anyone knows if this is common to have low WBC so long after chemoradiation. From what I have read (reliable sources), I am immunocompromised...to what extent, I am not sure.

Love and hope in OCF,
Kerri

So sorry you are having some other issues! You have been thru so much already.

Having low blood counts is very common in OC patients. Ive had very low white counts for years after chemo and rads. Several years after treatments I needed the shots. My numbers are still on the low side even 7 years+ later.

Hopefully your situation is nothing serious.

Thank you, Christine.

That makes me feel a bit better. The leukemia/lymphoma/MDS puts a bit of fear into me, I must admit since those are the some of the cancers that are caused by cancer treatments such as ours. I don't want to jump to conclusions.

Also, those diseases are in the forefront of my mind because my dear Aunt just passed away due to MDS, which then turned into ALL. She had fought long and hard over the past 7 years with 2 bouts of lymphoma and then was diagnosed with MDS/ALL this last time, which was simply too much.

Christine, may I ask what kind of shots you had?

Im very sorry about your aunt.

I had the same shots you did to raise my white counts.

Thank you very much, Christine.

Kerri I take a crapload of supplements!!!! one of them is B12 - Mind you I don't take any actual meds - anyway as christine said - it's probably normal. Hugs and best of luck.

Thanks, Ladies.

My PCP got in touch with my MO and she reviewed my labs and didn't think that anything was alarming . She would like a repeat CBC in 6 months.

I did a repeat urine and they did a culture...no infection, but a few red blood cells, which is normal for me (benign microscopic hematuria).

My endocrinologist bumped up my Vitamin D by taking an extra 50,000 units a week for 8 weeks (in addition to my 2,000 IU/day of D3).

So, everything has been checked out and I feel better about that. I will have my next CT scan in March.

Thank you for your continued support!

Love and hope in OCF,
Kerri

YAY! and HUGS!