Low white cell counts following 4th chemo

hopeful girl 1

Hi friends,

I am currently on the sandwich therapy, and to date have completed 3 chemos, 5 weeks of radiation, and then my 4th chemo two weeks ago. I just had my bloodwork results back last night, and my white counts are very low.

My medical team focuses mostly on the neutrophil count. My WBC is 1.4 (normal range is
4-10), and the neutrophil count is .8 (normal range is 2-7). I was told my neutrophils need to come up to at least 1.0 to do the 5th chemo next week. That is still really low though. If I start out at 1.0 getting the 5th chemo, I would imagine that my white count will drop to zero for both WBC and neutrophils. This is the lowest my counts have been. Neutrophils did get this low I believe after 3rd chemo, but then I had a couple of weeks break before radiation started.

Did anyone else have this problem, and what tips do you recommend?

I am aware of those injections out there, that help body raise white cell count, but I think my medical team prefers not to use those. I will see my oncologist next week as on chemo day the drill is: bloodwork first, see the oncologist, then have chemo if counts allow. So, I of course will ask about all of this.

What scares me, is I tend to catch colds, and bronchitis very easily-before my diagnosis. So I really have been living like a hermit to stay as clear of germs as I can. My doc has not asked this of me, but I believe in knowing your body and being cautious. We are going into flu season already now that fall is here. All of the stores are giving out flu shots, and when counts are low you are not supposed to be exposed to people that have been immunized. But I am really staying out of stores for most part anyway to avoid crowds. And there always seems to be some shoppers coughing away.

My counts have been lower since the 3rd chemo, and they dropped during radiation as well but then when radiation was completed and I had a 2-1/2 week break, they went back up to 2.7 WBC, and 2.1 on neutrophils before the 4th chemo.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Peace, tranquility and healing to all!