Doctor did not let me do my Erbiux today, cause neutropenia was 0.84 (840)

mehrdad357
mehrdad357 Member Posts: 66
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello after they took my bloodtest the NP came to me and told me I cannot do my Eritux treament today, cause my neutropenia was 0.84 (840) which is less than 1 (1000). I asked her to message the doc. and she was nice enough to do it and got another nope from tthe doc. explaining that I will pose myself to having

serious infections, due to low WBC. My weight has dropped from 130 before ctreatment to 117 today (exactly 10% weight loss). He also added they cannot give me cerain type of shot to boost it, cause it is not good for people under active radiation theray. He said we'll try next Thurs. I am worried, is this safe?

 

     Thanks

      Mehrdad

 

Comments

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    edited November 2016 #2
    no erbitux for you

    Mehrdad,

    Safe  to wait?  Yes.

    Our immune system is not at its best during treatments, to have to wait because of a low WBC is normal.  Try to knock down 3k calories a day, I know it is hard, but anything you can do to enhance your health is good.

    Matt

  • mehrdad357
    mehrdad357 Member Posts: 66
    #3
    CivilMatt said:

    no erbitux for you

    Mehrdad,

    Safe  to wait?  Yes.

    Our immune system is not at its best during treatments, to have to wait because of a low WBC is normal.  Try to knock down 3k calories a day, I know it is hard, but anything you can do to enhance your health is good.

    Matt

     

     

    Hello Matt,

    Thanks for the response, but he also told me the skipped treatment will not be made up. That is instead of original plan of getting 8 Erbitux treatments I'll get 7! Scary, he said chemo is usefull only when combined with radaiation. My radiation will end on 11/14/16, last Chemo is on 11/10/16. He is a compassionate doc.  He called me last night at 9 PM to discuss why skipped chemo. In any case this is 12.5% less Erbitux than planned. Any ideas?

     

                    Mehrdad

     

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    edited November 2016 #4
    should not be too scary

    Mehrdad,

    Many members have their last chemo treatments canceled. Those are usually platinum based chemo.

    I am not sure of the percentage of Erbitux missed as I am not sure of the loading dose.  There is a good chance that your cancer has already been eradicated and everything moving forward is extra (factor of safety).

    Start preparing for the finish,

    Matt

  • caregiver wife
    caregiver wife Member Posts: 234
    #5
    mehrdad357 said:

     

     

    Hello Matt,

    Thanks for the response, but he also told me the skipped treatment will not be made up. That is instead of original plan of getting 8 Erbitux treatments I'll get 7! Scary, he said chemo is usefull only when combined with radaiation. My radiation will end on 11/14/16, last Chemo is on 11/10/16. He is a compassionate doc.  He called me last night at 9 PM to discuss why skipped chemo. In any case this is 12.5% less Erbitux than planned. Any ideas?

     

                    Mehrdad

     

    Erbitux is a targeting

    Erbitux is a targeting treatment different from conventional chemo.  Erbitux targets a specific protein with the purpose of preventing further growth of cancer.  Used in conjuction with radiation with is targeting the existing tumor.  Hence, the Erbitux and radiation are used in conjunction, the Erbitux giving better results to the radiation.

    The skipped Erbitux at this time does not translate to a percentage of effectiveness of the combination treatment with radiation.  The greatest advantage of Erbitux has already been acheived.

    Hope this helps to allay your concerns.

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    edited November 2016 #6
    No Rush

     

    I had one of them really really bad infections a few years ago that almost killed me, like Matt said “Safe to Wait”

     

    Tim

     

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