More Bad News

There's no more appropriate title really.

If you read this blog regularly then you will know that I am optimistic by nature, but I also tell it how it is.

In simple terms the news is that my latest blood tests show that my next cycle of chemotherapy might be delayed and I may need a blood transfusion.

After the knock back of being pulled from curative surgery at the last moment I have began a new cycle of treatment and I am due to start the next cycle of chemotherapy tomorrow whilst initiating a new treatment programme of radiotherapy.

I have just been for blood tests and a consultation and my blood counts are not looking great.

The detail is that my neutrophils (white blood cells produced by the bone marrow to fight infection) stand at 0.4 and they have to be at least 0.5 to get into chemotherapy tomorrow.  I will go to hospital later this afternoon to have an injection to see if we can get the count up tomorrow, otherwise the chemotherapy will be delayed. The neutrophil results are not a disaster because chemotherapy does take these counts lower and I have stood at 0.45 the day before chemotherapy before.

However, as if to exact a double whammy, my haemoglobin levels have also gone down below the level that is acceptable for radiotherapy.  Haemoglobin is the element of the red blood cell that carries oxygen.  Normal for a male is between 14 and 16.  You may remember that upon diagnosis my level was 8 and went down further to 7.5, which is life-threatening and at transfusion levels. The haemoglobin levels have since rise back to normal and at the last count, on 5th July, stood at 13.8.

Radiotherapy requires that my haemobglobin levels are above 12 and below that I will need a blood transfusion.  To be honest, I don't want anybody else's blood in my body but it looks as if I don't have a choice.  My levels have descended considerably despite the fact that I am taking iron tablets every day.  So it is "needs must when the devil rides".

The only good news I have had recently is that the treatment for my disease is still considered curable, but the rest of it is "drip drip drip" bad.

I guess that I will just have to dig deeper and harder.