But the key was on a post-it which I noticed (post-its are useless; you write them and forget them) stuck to the Blood Test Results folder in the notebook I was given to organise my treatment life. There the nurse had written:
Globules blancs
* neutrophiles > 1500
That, she said, would determine whether I could have my chemo session or not.
Lo and behold, the blood results show:
Poly Neutrophiles 30.4%
1186 / mm3
So now you know.
If you're curious about those other things in the illustration, my Eosinophiles, Basophiles, Lymphocytes and Platelets are normal. My Monocytes and Erythrocytes are low.
But my CA-125 marker (normal <24.50) has dropped from a high of 4460.60 to 2542.70 after my first chemo to 820.60. That means the treatment is working!
Hooray!
ReplyDeleteMakes me think that a biology class should actually be required later in life. When you might have a need to understand Eosinophiles.
Aww, I'm so relieved. PO must be faster in France.
as long as you've got the blue stuff and vote that way, you're ahead of the game, girl!
ReplyDeleteYep, common in chemo. They don't want your WBC or RBC getting TOO low. As I'm guessing you've read by now, your red blood cells carry oxygen to your body. When they're low, your organs are getting less oxygen, and you may feel tired.
ReplyDeleteWhite count is your immune system. That gets too low, you're more prone to infection.
Good that your platelets aren't low, though.
There are injections they can give to raise both RBC and WBC. Neupogen for WBC, Epogen or Procrit for RBC (there are others, I'm sure)
Fantastic news about your CA125 going down!! That's a HUGE drop!
Karen
Thank you for that. I'm taking your comment with me to the doctor (in the Questions to Not Forget! folder of my notebook) and I'll ask her about the injections.
ReplyDeleteMost excellent news. Yelling at your cells does work.
ReplyDeleteOlga, doing a happy dance