How long labs return to normal

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azrescue
azrescue Member Posts: 116
edited August 2017 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

I will be a year from all treatment in October. I just went to see my internist for a physical. She did some lab work. My WBC was low, my neutrophils low, b12 low... so you get the point. All of my blood/immune fighters were low. I will talk to the dr tomorrow about this. But how long does it take for your body to recooperate from all that I did to it.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited August 2017

    My labs stayed in the normal range throughout neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemo. The only thing that went very low was my potassium level 1/2 way through adjuvant 12 wekly Taxol. I still have to take potassium to keep my level up in the normal range 7+ yrs later.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited August 2017

    My GP told me it could take 5 years after chemo for blood work to rebound.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2017

    azrescue - when you say your WBC and neutrophils are low, are they below the bottom of the range, or are they on the low end of the range and still inside? Lab values were established for adult males - it is common for women to be at the low end of the value, I am as well and I am 6 years out from treatment. I am routinely less than 1 point from the bottom on WBC, RBC, and very close to the bottom of the range for platelets, this is pretty consistent with what my CBC looked like prior to chemo. My hemoglobin is decent, but it is in the low range and was prior to treatment. Do you have a CBC from before you started treatment to compare? If your lab values were quite a bit higher prior to treatment, and have remained low for this long post-treatment, ask your oncologist about a chemotherapy induced bone marrow injury.

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  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited August 2017

    My neutrophils took years to come back into the normal range, and now they bounce around either just above or just below that threshold. I'm seven years out, and my lymphocytes are still below the cutoff for my lab's normal.

    I was told that my lymphcytes would be low for a long time, but the neutrophils were a bit of a surprise to my oncologist. I was still dipping into the severely neutropenic range 9 months after my last chemo. I had a bone marrow biopsy, which was fine, and they did slowly but steadily recover. The only situation where I'm aware this has been a problem was when I went to the ER with a severe infection and my total WBC was only 6. They didn't take me very seriously because of the WBC, but I ended up being admitted a day later and stuck in the hospital for a few days.

    This is only my experience - I have no idea how common this is because I haven't researched it at all for at least the past 5 years. Back when we first became aware of it, I did research it and couldn't find much of anything. I'd be curious if there's anything out there now about it.




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  • Rambros
    Rambros Member Posts: 78
    edited August 2017

    Mine ran low for about a year after chemo/radiation. Just takes time I guess.

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  • Denise-G
    Denise-G Member Posts: 1,777
    edited August 2017

    At my 5 year checkup, my labs were all perfect - it took that long to get some things back in shape!

    I have it hanging on my office wall - good luck!

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  • azrescue
    azrescue Member Posts: 116
    edited August 2017

    @specialk ~ some were in the limits but at the very lowest end. Others were low & not in the range. Great idea to compare to a pre C lab. Thanks!

    Thank you all for the wise words. It helped me calm down and relax & realize it is just going to take my body awhile to heal.


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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2017

    I actually just looked at my pre-chemo CBC and one from within the last six months, 6 years out from chemo - definitely long enough to return to normal. However, normal for me appears to be either right at the cusp of the low end, or just below - on almost all values. My WBC is at 4 or just above, RBC in the high 3's, hemoglobin 12-13, platelets in the 180's, ANC in the 2's - this is consistent with pre-treatment numbers, so I am an example of someone who runs on the low end because I am female. As far as I know, I am healthy. I historically have no issues with opportunistic infection arising from the low WBC.

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