Anyone else get low WBC counts from radiation??

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Usernameforreal
Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
edited July 2016 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi all,

At the start of May, my WBC was 6 (normal 4-10). I get weekly blood draws and noticed the numbers steadily going down. At the start of June my wbc was 2.5! I have had no other treatment for breast cancer other than surgery. No chemo, no Herceptin, no monoclonal antibodies or other drugs etc. I have no other health issues besides breast cancer, and I don't take any prescription meds. When I asked my RO about it, all he could say was that it was "perplexing".

Has this happened to anyone else? Just curious since my online searches always have low blood counts lumped together with chemo and radiation, but I couldn't find any info for radiation for breast cancer alone.

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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited June 2016

    Mine dropped with radiation. It took a really long time come up. No chemo either.

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    Did they say why yours dropped coraleliz?

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  • chef127
    chef127 Member Posts: 891
    edited June 2016

    Apparently, Radiation tx kills white blood cells. Why else is it checked every week? Perplexing is NOT a good answer. Mine never fell to dangerous levels, perplexing isn't it. lol.

    My blood glucose did rise, off the charts... 400 The RO was aware that I was a diabetic but never warned me to adjust my meds and watch my diet.

    Another crucial FACT about tx that is not disclosed.

    Hoping your WBC return to normal.

    Maureen

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  • dtad
    dtad Member Posts: 2,323
    edited June 2016

    Wow another se docs don't warn you about. I have multiple autoimmune disease and my WBC are always very low. Did not have radiation but almost did. Most likely it would have been life threatening for me! I was also told AFTER I decided not to have radiation that people with autoimmune disease do not do well with radiation. I guess someone else besides my docs was looking out for me. Good luck to all....

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    well my WBC counts went down even lower today to 2.2. And my platelets have dropped to 70,000. My RO spoke to my MO and neither one of them has any explanation for my bone marrow suppression. They said it's odd and unusual. Does anyone have a clue why this is happening?

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  • tgtg
    tgtg Member Posts: 266
    edited June 2016

    Username--I recall my WBC dropped below normal as well, but it returned to normal after a while, with no intervention. I asked my RO about it, and she said that it can happen and that even though the sternum marrow doesn't produce a huge amount of WB cells the decrease can happen. She just said to wait and see. I also asked my PCP.about the WBC (he had ordered it for my annual physical), and he likewise wasn't concerned and pointed out that different labs use different standards for counting and reporting the WBC, so the "normal" range and picture can differ, depending on who reads it.

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    thank you tgtg it's to comforting to hear about a similar experience and that it's nothing to worry about. I also asked my RO if this bone marrow suppression that I'm experiencing now, makes me more susceptible to developing leukemia in the future. He said no, but I still worry.

    I also read an article that concluded that women with small breasts did have a tendency to develop more myelosuppression since their thoracic rib got more exposure to radiation than larger breasted women. My RO said could be. I'm very tiny, so I'm thinking that must be it.

    Next week is boost and then I'm done!!!!! Can't wait!


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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited June 2016

    I'm also thin, maybe that had something to do with mine. My wbc's took along time to come up. My MO said it was my lymphocytes bringing my count down. Lymphocyte count has been running low as far back as I have records.

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  • cajunqueen15
    cajunqueen15 Member Posts: 794
    edited June 2016

    Mine was low after chemo, dropped lower during rads, rebounded but still low before surgery, ALMOST crept towards normal afterwards, and now is taking a big hit with everolimus (ANC 1.0, WBC 2.3) I am very thin and had whole breast, chest wall, and lymph nodes ×33. RO disagreed but I say yes as to rads being a culprit.

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    Hi cajunqueen15,

    Radiation is definitely a culprit in bone marrow suppression, especially if you're had chemo first.

    Here's a link to the article I mentioned before:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26813456

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  • New-girl
    New-girl Member Posts: 358
    edited June 2016

    I am going into my 4 week of radiation and have never had my blood drawn.  My weekly appointment with my RO consists of her not even checking my skin and just taking a brief look a foot away at my chest ( not even full view of breast) and saying nothing unless I ask. 

    I am on the small size definitely not tiny and have not had chemo.  I am wondering why no blood draws?

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    Hi New-girl, that does seem strange not to do at least a CBC with differential a few times during rad treatment. Especially since you had chemo beforehand. My RO actually thought about stopping the weekly blood draws since I didn't have chemo first. But I noticed the numbers starting to slide, so I said I don't mind them, keep on checking them weekly. I don't know how open your RO would be to doing them for you, since she barely does a decent physical exam it sounds like.

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  • tgtg
    tgtg Member Posts: 266
    edited June 2016

    Hi, Newgirl--My cancer docs didn't order any blood work during rads (I only had an lx, no chemo), nor did they even mention it. The CBC that revealed the lowered WBC count happened after rads ended, because it was part of the work-up for my annual July physical. And, by the way, I was (and still am) a DD--so definitely not small! I think that some docs feel they need to test for everything, just to cover themselves against lawsuits.

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  • chef127
    chef127 Member Posts: 891
    edited June 2016

    My blood was drawn weekly. I think this is standard. My RO didn't look at my poor pink breast either, the Rad nurse watched it. I saw the RO every Friday, his head buried in the clip board and would ask me "do you have any questions NO" all in one sentence, never looking up and not expecting a question from me. Thank goodness for the Rad nurse and the techs.

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  • Usernameforreal
    Usernameforreal Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2016

    good news ladies!! I stopped whole breast radiation last Friday and started on boost treatments on Monday. My blood was drawn on Tuesday and my counts have already started to rebound!!! My WBC is at 4.4, my platelets are back up to 150,000 and my ANC is now normal!! I'm so excited!!!

    My RO was happy as well and he concluded that the myelosuppression must have been due to the 50.4 grays of photon radiation, since now I'm getting the less deeply penetrating electron radiation for boost. Ummm yeah, ya think?!?!!!


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  • atanea
    atanea Member Posts: 58
    edited July 2016

    Hi Usernameforreal

    If you are recovering your WBC that's good news and it's probably nothing. But everyone that has rads (or chemo) should keep a watch on WBC. If later they keep getting lower and lower without any good explanation, just ask for a bone marrow biopsy (it's not that hard).

    What they have told you may not be true. No one can guarantee anyone that bone marrow suppression caused by radiation (or chemo) doesn't contribute to a later leukemia. In fact, that's probably what have happened to me, bone marrow suppression caused by radiation (no chemo) and almost 1 year later, leukemia. Fortunately, I was keeping a close watch on my wbc, they were getting down since radiation, very very slowly and almost 1 year after, they suddenly started getting even lower, very quickly. Keeping a close watch on my wbc helped to save my life.

    Of course, I'm a very very rare case, and this will not happen to the majority of people. But still, I don't understand why no one told me about this.

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  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited July 2016

    I never had any blood draws before or during my rads either. I was warned to be careful about infection because I could expect to be somewhat immunocompromised for awhile--though not as much as with chemo. Didn’t catch any colds, tummy bugs or flu; but when I developed superficial cutaneous MRSA on the site of a back-mole biopsy incision, my derm said the colony I (and up to half of Americans) had on that part of my skin would probably have never expressed itself had I not been radiated. (One course of doxycycline knocked it right out).

    I did have normal CBC pre-op; and will be getting full bloodwork next month at my 6-month followup MO appt./bone drug infusion (still dunno whether it’ll have to be a Zometa I.V. or I can get a Prolia shot).

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