I hope you guys who celebrate Thanksgiving had a nice day yesterday. Our family enjoyed our time with relatives.
This past Wednesday I had to skip my #3 weekly chemo because my White Blood Count was 2.3 (normal WBC is 4.2 - 10 with cut off for treatment at 3) and my ANC was .9 (normal Absolute Neutrophil Count is 1.5 - 6.5 with cut off for treatment at 1.5). So now my new fashion statement is a mask when out in public. One good thing about no chemo this week is that it'll give the neuropathy a break too.
In 2011 I automatically got an injection of Neulasta to stimulate my bone marrow 24 hours after the every three week cycle of Carboplatin and Taxotare and my blood counts stayed high enough not to miss any treatments (other than missing that last chemo because of neuropathy) I asked and apparently that's not a part of the protocol for weekly Taxol. I suspect I'll get Neulasta next week if my white count is still low.
I sure wish oncology drugs could knock the cancer dead but not be so hard on the healthy parts of our bodies! What is your experience with low white counts during chemo? Did you still eat out? Any tips to avoid infection besides the mask in public, avoiding sick people, lots of hand washing and soaking vegetables in vinegar water, peeling raw produce, and steaming greens instead of eating them raw? I never eat sushi so missing out on raw fish is easy.
I probably should be throwing our family's toothbrushes in the dishwasher more and disinfecting door and sink handles more. A flu or cold with low white counts could land a person in the hospital. I don't want to be a hermit or germaphobic through all this but want to take prudent precautions.
Paula
Blogging my way through this journey:
http://jpoliver.com/wordpress/archives/1671
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