immune system after chemo

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Theresanne
Theresanne Member Posts: 90
edited December 2016 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 5 years ago...st2, node negative lobular...double mastectomy ( rt side prophylatic). I received TAC treatments, but radiation was not recommended. I am now on Femera. My question, does anyone seem to have long term immune system issues? i am vegan ,take proper B12 and get enough protein...but it seems as though I catch everyones colds...and if I get even a minor cut, or infection...my lymph nodes get a bit enlarged, but then go back down... Freaks me out. I just got a flu shot, and lymph nodes under my arm in the same size enlarged a bit ( not on the breast cancer side) they have been slowly going dow. I recently, got an inflamed ingrown hair on my leg..sure enough, a gland in my groin puffed up a bit. My daughter had strep...a few days later...bam...same thing. I am always stressed...had a very stressful yr with job, loss of my beloved dog and also have had a bad fibromyalgia flare. Please friends..I am so tired and frankly afraid of all of this...anyinsight would be so appreciated.

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  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited December 2016

    A friend of mine had chemo in 2003, she still has a problem with her blood cell count. She never was told about that permanent effect and is not happy about it. She still suffers fatigue but says it is hard to know if is age related. But the good thing is her cancer hasn't come back yet. She was triple negative IDC.

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  • robsp
    robsp Member Posts: 50
    edited December 2016

    Do you have normal blood counts, B12 levels, iron , etc ?

    I had my chemo in 2014 and my blood count never come back again to normal values. My white blood cell count drop 50%, but I do not suffer infections. My red blood count is below normal levels and some times I suffer fatigue. I had 2 bone marrow biopsies and nothing abnormal was found.

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2016

    Theresanne - it would help us to answer questions if you would post your stats in 'my profile'. Have you had a complete blood work up done? Is your WBC low? What does your doc say?

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