Blood count keeps going up!

Sullivan said:

Hi Ink, no my dr. didnt explain to me what he ment nor do i know if its the red or white blood cells, however he did say it was something to watch so i go every 2mo. now instead of 3 mo.
my last chemo was April 2004, rad. ended in June 2004. So a year ago. I have been eating stuff like steamed red salmond, soy milk, veggies, lots of cholate! Sun flower seeds,chicken, eggs, cheese all fatting, oilve oil, no pork at all, or alot of red meat, i use ovlitene, brown rice, sweet potatoes, not good all the time sometimes i cheat..but less beer too. What would be the difference with the red & white cells?
I know i should know this, thank you for the note! warmly pattie

Pattie,

It sounds like you're making good strides toward a healthy diet so keep that up. I think everybody "cheats' a little, so no problem as long as it's really only a little. LOL

I would watch the alcohol intake though. It's typically considered a no-no for women who've had bc and/or to keep the intake very limited.

I'd also suggest that you consult with your doc and/or a nutritionist regarding the soy. Many docs advise avoiding it, post bc, because it acts like estrogen in the body. Particularly, if your cancer was estrogen positive, you may want to severely limit the amount of soy in your diet, until you can research, talk with the experts and decide how you feel about it.

I don't quite understand your question about the difference between the red and white cells, so I'll give it a go: The red blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients throught out bodies. When the counts become very low, one may feel overly fatigued, etc.. One can have a general lack of energy and things such as laboured breathing, with even mild physical exertion, etc..

The white blood cells fight infection in our bodies...a very important part of our immune systems. When these get too low, we can't fight off viruses or infections adequately and even cuts and minor scrapes can become a problem. Also, the normal bacteria which lives in our bodies, and ordinarily gives us no problem, can begin to grow, etc., because there's not enough white cells to keep them in check. We could get, for instance, shingles, fungal infections (thrush, mouth sores, yeast infections etc.) and various bacterial infections...all originating from inside our systems. Not to mention that we have less defenses against things outside our bodies, like people with the flu, etc.. That's why our docs always check our blood counts prior to each and every chemo treatment. If our counts are too low, then they postpone the treatment until our counts rise, either with or without injections to help them along.

There's a lot more involved in our white and red cell functions but that's the basics, as I understand them. Hope it's helpful. If you go to
www.google.com and type in red blood cells and
in a separate search, white blood cells, you'll find a lot of helpful info.. Far more informative than my feeble attempts.

One thing I'm curious about: Have your counts
been normal, since the time you completed treatment, until now? Knowing that would make a difference in considering what may be causing them to be low now. Your doc needs to be more forthcoming with you in what he/she is watching exactly (red or white cells or both) and what's being considered as remedies, etc.. Ask lots of questions and make notes when you see your doc,
because it's very important that we understand what's happening with our bodies. Otherwise it's easy to get overly concerned and/or nuts, while our imaginations run wild.

Please keep us informed.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink