CMF Question
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Woohoo......2 days of tests and doctor appointments and all is GREAT! I am so very happy and it really helps to know that.....God has this! Hope everyone is having a very BLESSED day!
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Hi, I just received an e-mail and my test results were ANC 0.9, WBC 2.7. Yhe Dr. Seems to think by Thursday the count will come up and I will be able to have treatment.I hope she is right. She fid say it wad borderline. Any info will help. Thanks Patty
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patty- I am going by memory, but I think the cut off for the ANC (absolute neutrophil count I think) is 1.0. so your .9 is almost okay. Before my last infusion, my ANC was .9. My Onc offered the Neulasta shot or to wait a week to have my counts improve, or to go ahead and be extremely careful about crowds, infections etc... I remember wanting to be finished so badly, I looked at my DH and asked what I should do. He answered without hesitation "roll the dice, take the treatment". I love that man, he knows me well. I had the final infusion without the Neulasta and was very careful about crowds, even filled the Rx for antibiotics my Onc wanted me to take (but didn't take them!). I bet you will be good to go on Thursday, Patty.
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Im worry my ast and alt test have come back high. Has anyone ever had this afyer one tound of cmf. Im freaking out. Cant sleep as usual feel like i have an earache. Now i am so bummed out.
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Thanks Designermom for the vitamin D input. I'll do some more research on it. It looks like I will be increasing my intake.
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Patty: Why don't you speak to your onc and/or your primary care physician about your ast and alt? My test results were very odd all through chemo and for about 6 months afterwards. I was not saavy enough to ask for my test results during chemo so it was something only my doctors thought about. (((hugs)))
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Hi girls, I spoke to the onc. She wants to postpone chemo possibly until Monday. Friday she needs me to go for blood work. In one breath she said we may have to rethink this. And in the next breath she told me she has seen these counts in the 200's. She said she wants to see if the ast and alt drop. If they do we can proceed with treatment on Monday. With her saying we may have to re think this I'm wondering what is she thinking NO CHEMO? Oh my goodness... to think I went from wanting to jump in front of a bus, to actually looking forward to chemo. I'm really scared now. Thanks for listening. Patty
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What is CMF?
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brendaclee- CMF is a type of chemo that has been used for over 20 years. It is short for Cytoxan Methotrexate Fluoracil (I think that is right, someone correct me if I am wrong).
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Designer Mom and Rita
I am with those who would like us to have our levels
up to 50 of Vit. D....mine was 38 I want to up it..
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Patty: There are lots of options for treatment so if your onc wants to "rethink"things, there is no need to worry.
Have a nice day all.
Mandy
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Thanks Mandy, but I want to do all I can to get rid of this. My shrink put me on 10mg of prozac for depression, maybe that is whats making the ast snd alt go up. I had that bdfor on a blood test. And it went away. Thanks again!
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Golfergrandma, haven't seen any post lately, how are you?
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Patty - Thanks for keeping in touch! I am feeling great until next Wed when I'll have my 6th tx. Today, I played 18 holes with my league and DH and I are playing in our Member-Member tournament Saturday and Sunday. Am also playing golf with a friend on Monday. Have to get my playing in before next Wed! Am sorry to hear that you're feeling a bit insecure, but I wouldn't worry because there are so many alternative tx. Trust your onc to know the best course. Try to relax a little. Hope the prozac is helping.
Designer Mom - Will go to the Vitamin D Council site to do a little research into the link between D and BC. I began taking D3 after reading that older adults are usually deficient. Though I think I get quite a bit from the sun when I'm golfing.
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Hi golfergrandms, good for you playing golf. Stay well. Patty
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golfer-Wow, you are headed for #6, you are gettinng there. My Onc said 85% of her patients were low in vitamin D3 (that's the one that needs testing). Sunshine is definitely the best way to get your levels up, but with most of us staying in much of the year, we seem to be accumulating deficits. Once levels are low, it takes a looooooong time to inch them back up. I have been supplementing regularly for 9 months, including sunshine and prescription strength D. My levels have gone from 14 to 26. They say BC women should be at least 50. I think our doctors should give us all prescriptions for a vacation in Hawaii and call it medical necessity! The more skin that is kissed by the sun, the better. I say golf in a bikini!
Patty- Hang in there and remember to breaaaaathe. Let us know what your doctors say.
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Designer Mom - How many iu's are in prescription level D3? Just curious. Will definitely have my levels tested for D3. Thanks for the info.
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golfer- I was supplementing with 2,000 IU of D3 a day (make sure it is D3, not D). Many BC ladies are taking 5,000 IU daily. Right now I am only taking the prescription strength 50,000 IU once a week for 6 weeks. Be sure to check your multi vitamin as that usually has D in it too. vitamindcouncil.org goes into lots of detail on dosage and the best kind of D3 to take (I think cholecalcitrol or something). Good luck.
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Designermom, it is funny how sll doctors are different, my onc. Told me not yo take a multi . I just do what they say. I am on calcium and D3 i have to check with her to see if im taking the right dosage. Take care. Patty
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Patty- I think it is different while you are in active chemo. Many Oncs don't want you to take any vitamins that would prevent cell damage. After all, they are trying real hard to kill those cancer cells! I obveyed my Onc and didn't take any supplements during chemo. After chemo, I got busy and researched what would help keep me healthy. Do check with your Onc about anything.
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I was taking Q-10 and a multi as well as D3, calcium and Omega-3. Onc told me to stop the Q-10 and multi while on chemo, but to continue the D3, calcium and Omega-3. My neighbor who is also a BC survivor and the wife of an ER MD takes 6,000 D3/day and 13,000 I believe by injection every week. Her DH is very impressed by the studies on D3 controlling BC, and so am I!
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Wow! It sounds like some of you are taking ALOT more Vitamin D3 than I am. I really do need to get more informed on this. Like you, golfergrandma, I think I get quite a bit while golfing but I probably do need more.
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My integrative doc told me to take 5000 units of D3 daily, 300 of coq10, and 2000 of C.
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In RI for the weekend, checked my messages at home... there was a call from onc, she said my liber enzymes from Friday's blood test did not go down. She also said the blood was hemo-tised(spelling) ? And this could be a wrong reading. I don't know what the hemotized thing means. Now I have to go for bloodwork stat on Monday to ck if they went down before she treats me. Then the next call was from the specialty pharmacy wanting to set up delivery for neulasta. I called back there closed untol Monday 8:00am. Lol I need the shot by Tuesday afternoon, I dont know if I will get it in time. Needless to say i'm freaking out and really not having a good time at all. I wish I knew what was causing the elevated ast and alt. Now I have to go to a gastro dr. Am I scared ? You bet. I don't know what will happen if they stop chemo all together. What will my options be? I feel beaten, bit I got to get in the correct mind frame. OK... thanks for listening to my rant, if anyone has info or comments please send them my way. Patty
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Patty- Hang in there girl! I am going by memory from when I was a nurse, but I think hemolized means that something happened to the tube of blood before they ran the test (could have frozen, gotten too hot etc...). The cells in the sample were not good enough quality to run tests accurately. This has nothing to do with the condition of your blood. Either the lab tech or lab screwed something up and I would ask some serious questions before they stick you again. WHY was the blood sample hemolized? I would breaaaaathe and try to forget things (yeah, I know it's hard) until they run your tests stat on Monday. I always got my bloodtests right before my treatments, only takes a few minutes. About the Neulasta shot, I think you just need to take it within 48 hours AFTER your treatment. Hopefully someone who took Neulasta will chime in here. My hope is that your bloodwork will be just fine when they check it tomorrow. If the blood sample was hemolized, I am thinking their tests weren't accurate. Let us know and best of luck!
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Thanks designermom, I' m going to try and not worry. I think I have had it with that hospital. My onc is at MSKCC in Westchester County N.Y. I'm going to have my blood tested there tomorrow and if I have yo go for anymore tests in between I will just take the fifteen min ride.As far as questions for the lab about the blood work, what wuestions should I ask? I want to try and understand everyghing so I can be on top of things. This is my body !!! Thanks for the reply. Patty
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Patty - I've had my neulasta shots 24 hours after my tx, and I think that is the common practice. Hang in there girl!
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Patty- Again, I haven't worked in nursing since 1978. In those days, hemolysis (damage of red cells releasing hemoglobin into serum) could result from using a needle that was too small for drawing blood or from not spinning down the tube separating cells from serum in a timely way. I do think some medical conditions can cause it too. I would definitely have a heart to heart with your doctor and tell them that you have been put through a lot of extra anxiety due to these results and you hope he will request the supervisor of the lab to repeat the tests. You have enough on your plate without having to deal with incorrect lab procedures or results. By the way, I had to be stuck four times last week (by two different nurses) as the tech who stuck me last month forgot several tubes....and one doctor didn't want to deal with my thyroid tests and told me to go to my regular doctor for that! Good luck!
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Good morning ladies, I will be getting my shipment of neulasta tomorrow two injections with a co-pay of $150.00 so that's not too bad. Hoping all goes well today. Oh... which type of claritin should I buy, and when should I take it. Thanks, have a good day. Patty
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patty- I would just make sure what your bloodcounts are before you take the Neulasta, you might not even need it. Your bloodcounts could have been incorrect due to the hemolyzed sample. Good luck!
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