White Cell Count going back down

nielsen34
nielsen34 Member Posts: 1
I don't know where to begin, it has been so many ups and downs. My husband was diagnosed w/ NHL back in October and he was told that he needed 6 to 8 treatments of R-CHOP. He had a treatment at the beginning of November and then at the end of November, along with a Neulasta shot at the end of each of those treatments. Then when he went back for his 3rd treatment, his white cell count went down to around 2.4 so his 3rd treatment was delayed and he had to go in for blood work, every week after that. After counts still low, Onco. decided to give him 10 Neupogen shots in a row and still nothing. This went on all through December and January and finally in February Onco. decided that he did not want to give anymore treatments of R-Chop since counts were so low and did not want to risk treatment, therefore, he decided to give him Rituxin once every week for 4 weeks. Next month had scans taken and everything was clear and told he was in remission, however, doctor wanted to keep him on a Maintenance Treatment Program, which meant that for every 6 months for 2 years he had to get the Rituxin treatment. So from December all the way until June, his counts were below and he was in and out of the hospital during those months because of infections. Amazingly, all of a sudden in the middle of June his white cell counts went up and stayed up through June, July and August. He just had his second round of Rituxin just the other day and his counts had gone back down and are now around 1.2, which the Onco. is completly puzzled as to why his counts would just go down after the Rituxin treatment which is highly unsual, nothing about my husband's case has been usual. Onco. now wants him to get 10 Neupogen shots, which he hates because they make him feel awful. This ordeal has been so hard on our family, we are in our mid 30's and we have a 20 month old so everything has been very difficult. Has anyone been through this same ordeal????

Comments

  • DennisR
    DennisR Member Posts: 148
    Hi Neilson34,
    Low White cell

    Hi Neilson34,

    Low White cell counts are very common as a side effect of R-CHOP Chemo, mine fluctuated up and down for many months before finally stabelizing. Sometimes the Neupogen worked, sometimes not, and I know about the pain associated with putting your Marrow into overdrive with the shots.
    Our bodies are very complicated and the Bone Marrow seems to have a mind of it's own when it determines whether or not to produce new cells. My Marrow seemed to figure out when it was being fooled for Chemo therapy purposes and it just shut down cell production usually for 3 weeks at a time.
    DennisR