hemagloban low?

soccerfreaks said:

supplements
I responded with respect to delays in treatment in your other post, Michelle.

Quickly, with respect to low hemoglobin levels (anemia), I would ask about the possibility of hub taking a daily iron and/or B12 supplement. These can be acquired over the counter and I can tell you that I took them until very recently on a routine basis, and probably still should be.

But, again, always ASK before making an addition like that, particularly during chemotherapy.

If I may add an unbidden suggestion, Michelle, while you and your hub may see OncoMan only monthly, you should feel free in between to call him when you have a question of this magnitude. I am not an advocate of calling him daily or even weekly, (he or she, as the case may be), because cancer is all the rage, as it were, and so these folks are very busy with other people just like yourselves and must schedule their time very judiciously. I suspect, that is, that they are not out playing golf every other day, not these particular doctors.

But you are committed, and you are paying him: you are his customer! And you are entitled to answers.

I would also suggest that in between those monthly sessions with OncoMan, you write down every question you or hub has, as the questions come to mind, and that you take that list with you to the next appointment, and that you ask those questions, and that you fully expect answers from OncoMan, and that you write those answers down (sometimes, for some odd reason, we forget what we are told as soon as we walk back out the door, I swear, and I don't know why that is, but it so: my wife and I still debate about certain events/advice, etc ).

And that you repeat this process from month to month for the duration of treatment and even after, when you will have questions about long-term survivorship (it is hoped). This is part of what you are paying him for.

Good luck, Michelle, to you and your husband.

Hang in there, and take care,

Joe

ritakane said:

Hemoglobin
Hi, Michelle. The low blood count has been my own most serious issue since my lung cancer surfaced in February. Because I have had additional blood issues (clotting, internal bleeding) my oncologist has stayed away from Procrit, which used to be the standard treatment to boost the blood count until August, 2008. There have been some blood clotting side effects that made the FDA place a "back box" warning on it and other drugs of this type. The FDA recommends they NOT be utilized to bring up the blood count, though they are still ok for use in other ways. That kind of left us with transfusions to brinng up the count.

Even more frustrating is the fact that you and your husband really have little to do with affecting the count - except increasing the protein in the diet (always ASK). The count is affected by the chemo. It can be ok today and drop tomorrow without you making any changes at all. In fact, you can safely assume the counts will drop. I'm afraid it's one of those things chemo does because of how it interacts with the bone marrow where the red cells are produced. So this is one way you can tell the chemo IS WORKING...and that's the good news about needing the transfusions.

All of that having been said, please remember YOU are also going through this with your husband. Be kind to yourself. Not only because he needs you. But because YOU need you. I cannot imagine going through this without a support system!!!. Trust me, those of us on the receiving end of a caregiver's love really can't even begin to express our appreciation.

You got some great advise from Soccerfreak. I have had to adopt a treatment partner to go with me to doctor's visits just to make sure another set of ears is there (and I'm in senior management)and I have started to write down all my questions before the visit. Then write down all the answers. I realize I need to do those things to make the visit less stressful, among all the other 50,000 things to remember. So don't beat yourself up so badly.

Good luck to you and your husband.

Rita