Dad is in the hospital - low white blood cell count/fever

DanaMB3
DanaMB3 Member Posts: 98
in Esophageal Cancer #1
My dad (Stage 3, into his 3rd week of treatment) has been in the hospital since Saturday.
My mom, when changing his J-tube bandages, noticed he was warm, took him temp which was 100.4. She called the doc who told her to bring him to the emergency room. Long story short he has had a fever of 99 to 100 since Saturday and his WBC count is extremely low. They have been giving him shots to boost the count, and so far it is not working. They have him on an antibiotic drip. All testing they have done for infection so far have come back negative. We are just not sure why the fever is not going away. In the meantime, this is setting back his treatment since he cannot receive his radiation until the WBC count goes back up.

I feel terribly for my dad...there have been so many road blocks in his treatment plan.

Just wanted to post an update. If anyone has experience with a similar situation or suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Comments

  • Tina Blondek
    Tina Blondek Member Posts: 1,500 Member
    #2
    Hang in There
    Hello Dana and Dad,
    Thank you for the update. Hope today finds your dad feeling a little better. The fever is telling your dad's body something is not right. Happy he is in the hospital, they will take good care of him, and find out what is causing his fever. Keep up the good work Dana, you are Daddy's Girl. Just like I was. My dad called me his right hand girl. We will be thinking of you and praying for all of you. Keep us up to date.
    Tina in Va
  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #3
    Hi, Sorry your dad has had a
    Hi, Sorry your dad has had a set back. When I first started chemo, I had a very high fever, but an antibotic took care of it and I didn't have to be hospitalized. It's all the side effects ,that sets treatment back,that can be so discouraging. Hang in there. He will be in my prayers, Sandra
  • oriontj
    oriontj Member Posts: 375
    #4
    My friend's husband had a fever also
    He also was hospitalized and they never found out why...he just spiked a high fever and they kept him for four days...he has liver cancer..this came two days after his first chemo...

    Tom has the shots after each chemo for low white blood cells...he gets them within 48 hrs, 24 being the soonest...so far they have been at the U of C...but the next shot will be local.

    Which hospital is your at? One close to you? What do his u of c oncologists say?

    I sure hope that tomorrow brings and end to the fever...so he can start his treatment again...hang in there Dana...

    jan
  • DanaMB3
    DanaMB3 Member Posts: 98
    #5
    Thank you everyone. It's
    Thank you everyone. It's comforting to be able to talk to others who know the ups and downs. My dad was released earlier today. His WBC count went back up, though he still has a slight temp of 99. None of the tests could find infection; they figure it is his own body’s bacteria causing the rise in temp. They just need to monitor his temp closely at home.

    Jan, he was at the hospital closer to their home. I guess now that they know this happened they will now give him those shots proactively. He was able to receive his radiation today, so things are back on track.

    On the bright side, since he was hooked up to the feeding tube for those 4 days he put a couple of pounds back on. :)

    Thanks again...
  • unclaw2002
    unclaw2002 Member Posts: 599
    #6
    DanaMB3 said:

    Thank you everyone. It's
    Thank you everyone. It's comforting to be able to talk to others who know the ups and downs. My dad was released earlier today. His WBC count went back up, though he still has a slight temp of 99. None of the tests could find infection; they figure it is his own body’s bacteria causing the rise in temp. They just need to monitor his temp closely at home.

    Jan, he was at the hospital closer to their home. I guess now that they know this happened they will now give him those shots proactively. He was able to receive his radiation today, so things are back on track.

    On the bright side, since he was hooked up to the feeding tube for those 4 days he put a couple of pounds back on. :)

    Thanks again...

    Dana,It is frustrating when
    Dana,

    It is frustrating when they can't figure out what is causing the fever but hopefully his temperature will go back to normal and he will feel better - it could have just been a virus he caught instead of a bacterial infection (it is that time of year).

    I would say though that if he still has a fever after a week I might ask the doctors to run new tests, and cultures to see if they could find the source of the infection. When you are undergoing chemo your immune system is not up to par so it is easy to catch something.

    Glad to hear he was able to get some nutrition - that and hydration is key especially when you are having radiation and chemo.

    Good luck,
    Cindy
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #7
    DanaMB3 said:

    Thank you everyone. It's
    Thank you everyone. It's comforting to be able to talk to others who know the ups and downs. My dad was released earlier today. His WBC count went back up, though he still has a slight temp of 99. None of the tests could find infection; they figure it is his own body’s bacteria causing the rise in temp. They just need to monitor his temp closely at home.

    Jan, he was at the hospital closer to their home. I guess now that they know this happened they will now give him those shots proactively. He was able to receive his radiation today, so things are back on track.

    On the bright side, since he was hooked up to the feeding tube for those 4 days he put a couple of pounds back on. :)

    Thanks again...

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