Cycle 1 Day 15 - Neutropenia Arises

Today was my second chemotherapy infusion (out of a total of 12).  The typical infusion day will start with a blood draw.  Results return about 15 minutes later and then the oncologist comes to talk before getting started with chemotherapy.  The reason for this process is that it becomes too dangerous to give chemotherapy if one's white count (particularly neutrophils) becomes too low.  For me, the cutoff is 200, for others it is 1,000.  This means that if my count drops to 200 or below, I will have to prolong my time between infusions which will result in an extended duration of my overall treatment.  

Lucky me, my absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 600 today (see below).  YAY!  It may not be enough to fend off some infections so I have to be extremely cautious about exposures and check my temperature twice daily now.  In addition, I am now slightly anemic (my red cells were affected as well) but my platelets remain normal (although 100 points lower than pre-chemotherapy levels).  

The neutropenia* and anemia may contribute to my fatigue (along with the chemo drugs themselves).  But, it can't stop me from exercising or writing my blog!  It just means that Chris gets his wish....I nap very easily.  My creativity may be impaired as well, since I often doze off in the middle of my documentation, wiping out some of my most creative thoughts.  (Or at least that’s my current excuse.)

* Neutropenia is defined as a low neutrophil count.  Neutrophils and leukocytes together with some other lesser known cell types (monocytes, eosinophils, etc.) comprise one’s total white blood cell count (WBC).  Neutrophils typically respond in acute infections and inflammation and lymphocytes are primarily responsible for creating long-term antibodies and killing targeted antigens or bugs (bacteria and viruses) that your body recognizes as abnormal.  

"Fight the good fight every moment, every minute, every day.  Fight the good fight every moment, make it worth the price we pay...it's the only way." -- Triumph  

If you don't know this song by Triumph, listen to it on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgpcgO4Hvk) and read the lyrics.  They are very inspirational.

My results:

The WBC dropped from 10.5 on 1/15 (just before chemo) to 3.8 (1 week after chemo) to 1.9 today (2 weeks after chemo and at the start of 2nd infusion).   You can see the hgb (hemoglobin) and hct (hematocrit) dropped to make me anemic.  Lastly, Neut# Auto (Automated neutrophil count) is 0.6K today (or 600), down from 2.8 (1 wk ago) and 7.1 prior to chemo (normal range is 2.0-7.8).