oncologist suggested blood transfusion, I am scared

fac03

My AC#4 was on Tuesday, my hemoglobin is now at 8. It slowly went down from 11.

Oncologist suggested blood transfusion at the time. I told her I was concerned with tainted blood and she assured me that the chances is low, but there is a chance. I am scared. I am just tired of dealing with the side effects and don't want to introduce anything new into my body if I can avoid it. My Taxol will start in 2 weeks, we "compromised" to retest the blood next week and will decide. I knew the hemoglobin will be lowered. The first two days after AC#3 and AC#4, I experienced shortness of breath. I am just scared.

Meow13

If your blood type is O- you might have additional concerns with getting a transfusion. You could possibly develop antibodies if given the wrong type. I would get a second opinion before doing it.

The problems really arise if you develop the antibodies and in the future are in a life threatening need for blood transfusion it could be disastrous.

MsMarie

fac, mine went as low as 7.4 after 4th AC heading into Taxol #1. My MO monitored me closely and we considered an iron IV, but I am eating iron rich foods and taking a gentle iron supplement. I was well above 8 for Taxol 2&3 and hope that it's on the rise this week.

So many risks with blood transfusion. I just wanted to give you some hope that mine is rising without the transfusion. From what I understand it will likely be a slow climb to get back to a normal level again. MM

LaCombattante

Ladies, a fellow anemic here.
My red blood counts and hemoglobin have been on decline during the AC, after the 3rd treatment my hemoglobin is at 9. I have my final AC on Monday and I sincerely hope that the level will hold. So far my MO was not too concerned and never brought it up herself. When I questioned her, she said that the decline on AC is expected, and as long as I am asymptomatic, she does not see a need to interfere... unless it goes too low.

MsMarie,
Have you been taking Gentle Iron on AC already? I am familiar with the supplement, it did wonders to my blood counts when I was anemic years ago, and I was considering taking it again (with MO blessing, of course).

fac03

MsMarie, thank you. I was just scared of dealing with unexpected new problems. I started with a blood clot in February, then they told me they suspected breast cancer.They got me in the hospital to do a biopsy which was supposed to be a few days' stay, it turned into two weeks because my back was hurt during the stay. I could not move for a week. Then the bone pain after the first AC caused my neck/shoulder pain and I have PT now. It is a year that I like to forget.

I had a stomach ulcer a few years ago and my hemoglobin was in the mid 7. The GI doctor asked me to take iron supplement, I am surprised my oncologist did not suggest. I agreed on the blood test next week is to buy some time as I just did not know what to do when she mentioned blood transfusion is the only option. I am hoping to eat iron rich food will help.

oncologist and I agreed that the hemoglobin will likely rise during taxol, but she said it will take several weeks.

Cowgirl13

fac03, I have a good friend who has been having transfusions because her hemoglobin levels have been so low. This is unrelated to cancer. She feels so much better after these transfusions and she is slowly getting her #s up. She has had no problems. You can have heart problems if you levels are too low.

MsMarie

LaCombattante, I was not on the gentle iron during AC, although my hemoglobin dropped after every treatment. I started the week after 4th AC when my levels were in the 7s. Besides some noticeable shortness of breath, I didn't have other symptoms.

fac, today my hemoglobin was up to 9.3 and I have my 4th taxol tomorrow. Slowly rising, I'll take that! I hope yours will do the same.

MM

fac03

I finally agreed to the blood transfusion which will happen tomorrow. I am scared and part of me asked me not to do it, but I think I have no other choice. I think part of the reason was I am scared I will be on my own if something happens.

My AC#4 was this past Tuesday, the hemoglobin was at 8. On Thursday, I slept the whole day. Got up this morning, felt the shortness of breadth was stronger, dizzy and overall uncomfortable. Called the doctor's office and they asked me to go in for a blood test. hemoglobin went down to 7.2, they told me my heartbeat went above 100 (the normal was 80s, oncologist told me that meant my heart worked harder, I am not sure how much I can push it further), then recommended for a blood transfusion.

Cowgirl13

fac03, so glad you are having the transfusion. This will really, really help. Keep us posted.

HappyAnyway

Hi fac03. My last AC was one week ago. I saw my MO today. My hemoglobin is 7.9. He mentioned the same symptoms that you noted. If mine gets to 7, or I exhibit symptoms, I'll be getting a transfusion, too. You're not alone. Sending positive thoughts.

ksusan

Best wishes.

muska

I had a blood transfusion when my hemoglobin dropped during AC. If I recall correctly the protocol is to transfuse if it falls below 8. There are many controls in place to prevent contamination, I wouldn't be concerned about this aspect. That one transfusion was enough to get me through the AC course and start taxol. BTW, red blood counts don't usually drop during taxol.

Best

fac03

thank you for the best wishes and positive thoughts.

hemoglobin was at 7.2 on Friday, got one unit of blood on Saturday. Retest blood on Tuesday, hemoglobin went to 8.6. Honestly I did not feel too much better. I felt my heart was beating fast on Thursday and Friday and it went away on Saturday. But I was tired after the transfusion and slept most of the time from Saturday till today.

I am still scared of the possibility of tainted blood, it is in God's hands now.

thank you for the encouragement.

exbrnxgrl

fac03,

I hope your counts get better and, most importantly, that you feel better soon. May I ask where you live? Many, many countries have very safe blood supplies. This is not to say that it’s foolproof, as nothing is, but the odds of contamination are quite small. Very little in life is without risk, but we need to look at facts when weighing risk vs. reward. Take good care

---

fac03

exbrnxgrl, I live in north/central NJ.I read about some negative comments about the hospital where I am getting treated on this forum. But on my own experience, I have seen some employees were not following proper protocols.

exbrnxgrl

fac03,

North/central NJ? I would venture to guess that you have very little to worry about in terms of contaminated blood supply. Are you feeling better

fac03

exbrnxgrl, I am in Union County NJ, technically I think it is considered as North NJ, but I thought it is more like central.

I felt my heartbeat is not as fast as the time when the hemoglobin was at 7.2 , but I have been extremely tired since the transfusion. I will be have my taxol tomorrow and will have another blood test.

LaCombattante

Hi fac03, sorry you feel tired - hopefully the tiredness will go away soon!

I am just back from my regular appointment with MO & weekly blood test. My hemoglobin went further down after the final EC, and was at 8.6 ... which I expected because of shortness of breath, heart beat, fatigue. I went for a walk yesterday and had to stop several times which is so totally unlike me.

My MO was - to my great surprise- very concerned, I guess she just expected me to continue my smooth sailing through chemo as it has been so far . Sooo... I got an iron IV & colony stimulating factor to increase red cell production; she also decided to delay beginning of Taxol to give me / my red blood cells an extra week to recover.

I am actually happy with this development . I am aware of the concerns about use of colony stimulating factors, etc, etc but nothing is without risks and quality of life is very important to me.

Cowgirl13

fac03, you may have needed another transfusion. Hope you can have your levels checked before next chemo.

fac03

Cowgirl13 , my hemoglobin was 7.5 today and I was so worry that my oncologist recommended blood transfusion. Fortunately she didn't as she felt that my hemoglobin level will slowly go up.

LaCombattante , when my heartbeat was fast, my oncologist suggested me not to do exercise, she said it would compete with my heart to get the oxygen. The physician assistant did not offer iron IV as an option, according to him, my iron was low, but my ferritin, which is a measure of the iron stored was high, hence he did not think iron IV would help. I do not really trust him. I was supposed to have my first taxol today, but because they were concerned with my temperature, it went from 99 to 99.8 within 90 minutes for no apparent reason.

Cowgirl13

fac03, I do hope that your level does go up. If you continue to feel this bad I would suggest that you bug her for another transfusion. I know how wiped out one can feel as I have been through this with a friend.

Alicethecat2

Fac03

Sorry to hear you're going through this.

If your health has been good before breast cancer, it can be quite scary to think about interventions such as colony stimulating factors and blood transfusions. The unknown is sometimes a bit challenging.

However, in case this helps, I had both in 2012 when I was on Taxotere due to low haemoglobin like you and am doing fine. Yes, I was concerned about the possibilities of contaminated blood but the chances were infinitesimally small, particularly after increased screening after the problems before. I also read Special K's posts on blood screening and matching prior to a transfusion and felt reassured. You could always look them up.

I felt much better after two packets of blood immediately afterwards. Why not you?

Best wishes

Alice