please answer my question!

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kdo29
kdo29 Member Posts: 25
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
To make a long story short.. mom diagnosed colon cancer....colon ressection went to 6 lymphnodes...chemo 6 months...scan 3 months later...tumor on liver....liver ressection sept 17 09...recovered well...had scan small (less than a cm)spot on liver...sarted chemo...1 every 2 weeks...after one treatment blood count too low to do next treatment.
going back jan 7 for 2nd trtment if blood count is up..
1st question:
Is it normal after 1 treatment not to get to take the next one due to blood count being low?

2nd question:Do you think the possiblilty of another liver ressection is great under the circumstances?

Im so scared of my mom having to go through that surgery again.Just need some feedback from you wonderful people..thanks!

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  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #2
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    First of all..B_R_E_A_T_H_E
    Now, 1 at a time......
    (1).The simple infusion of chemo is not so simple...it is actual biological warfare that was found to actually kill cancer cells so along with killing people it also had a second use, to kill cancer cells. The immune system is made up of White Blood Cells which are normally the ones that are compromised by the chemo. Thus the missed chemo treatment, unless the WBC (white blood cell) count is within normal ranges they will not treat you until it gets within range again. That is normally through a shot of Neulasta or a 2-3 shot regimen of Neupagen. In 2-3 days the WBC count should be back to normal ranges enough to allow for the next treatment to commence...

    (2). Liver resections aren't my area but I know someone else will pipe up and answer for you. My opinion would be that if it is that small then they may try and shrink it to nothing or try to maybe biopsy to see if in fact it is another leasion or simply scar tissue from the other surgery...Mainly....be patient and take calming breaths, it sounds like mom is doing very well indeed....Love and hope, Buzz
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #3
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    Buzzard said:

    First of all..B_R_E_A_T_H_E
    Now, 1 at a time......
    (1).The simple infusion of chemo is not so simple...it is actual biological warfare that was found to actually kill cancer cells so along with killing people it also had a second use, to kill cancer cells. The immune system is made up of White Blood Cells which are normally the ones that are compromised by the chemo. Thus the missed chemo treatment, unless the WBC (white blood cell) count is within normal ranges they will not treat you until it gets within range again. That is normally through a shot of Neulasta or a 2-3 shot regimen of Neupagen. In 2-3 days the WBC count should be back to normal ranges enough to allow for the next treatment to commence...

    (2). Liver resections aren't my area but I know someone else will pipe up and answer for you. My opinion would be that if it is that small then they may try and shrink it to nothing or try to maybe biopsy to see if in fact it is another leasion or simply scar tissue from the other surgery...Mainly....be patient and take calming breaths, it sounds like mom is doing very well indeed....Love and hope, Buzz

    I agree with the answer man!
    Breathe! And take each moment, one at a time....

    #1...as Buzzard said, the infusion is really intense. I, myself, had 2 times...once with the colon cancer chemo, once with the breast cancer chemo...where I needed a 'break' due to low white counts. And then, once, I was working, felt fine...my onc called and said 'So, where are you?' I said 'working'. She said 'How many people are around you?' I said 'I am a computer consultant, working in an office of 15-20 people...why?' 'Can you return tomorrow?' I said 'I suppose....why?' She said 'Well, your white count is so low that if anyone sneezes on you, you will probably be in the hospital with pneumonia!!!!'
    Needless to say, I rescheduled what I was doing....lol...

    #2...I can't speak to it...I had 2 different cancers in one year, not spread of one...

    Hugs, Kathi
  • KATE58
    KATE58 Member Posts: 299
    #4
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    KathiM said:

    I agree with the answer man!
    Breathe! And take each moment, one at a time....

    #1...as Buzzard said, the infusion is really intense. I, myself, had 2 times...once with the colon cancer chemo, once with the breast cancer chemo...where I needed a 'break' due to low white counts. And then, once, I was working, felt fine...my onc called and said 'So, where are you?' I said 'working'. She said 'How many people are around you?' I said 'I am a computer consultant, working in an office of 15-20 people...why?' 'Can you return tomorrow?' I said 'I suppose....why?' She said 'Well, your white count is so low that if anyone sneezes on you, you will probably be in the hospital with pneumonia!!!!'
    Needless to say, I rescheduled what I was doing....lol...

    #2...I can't speak to it...I had 2 different cancers in one year, not spread of one...

    Hugs, Kathi

    my problem was not white
    my problem was not white cells--they gave me shots to keep them up.
    mine wae red cells that kept delaying treatment.mine were probably delayed maybe 6 or 7 times, no more than a week delay.
    I had a liver resection and being a good candidate depends on multiple variences.
    where met is,how big,how near main blood vessel,if you have mets in other parts of body.
    I became a candidate for resection only when it was only met in body,only in one lobe, small size,and had been stable for several months.
    thats my case- diff docs may do diff things.
    my resection was 2 years ago. while mets have ocassionally cropped in other areas,
    none have reappeared in liver
    kATE.
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #5
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    low blood count treatment
    Hello,

    Has your mom's oncologist or oncology nurse talked about giving her a shot to help bring her white cell count up again? I've had two different oncologists in my 2-1/2 yrs of this. The first onc's method was to skip chemo if the count was too low & he reserved giving neupogen or neulasta shots for low white counts only if it was really severe. My new onc has a different approach- he routinely gives the shot every time after chemo (on the day the pack was unhooked). His thought was it's better to prevent the white count from dropping too low in the first place & that it's easier to prevent it from dropping than it is to try to bring it up again and he didn't want to risk not being able to take the chemo on time the next time.
    I'd talk to the doctor about this option. If it isn't the white cell count that was the concern, there's also a shot for the red blood cells too, although I never needed it for the red cells- just the white count.

    Take care and best wishes to your mom-
    Lisa

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