Neutropenia

I think it means the chemo dose is really strong for you. I read a study that suggested that people who get neutropenia are probably getting a really strong & effective dose so that's one bright thing about it.

"retrospective data examining the impact of treatment-related leucopoenia and outcome suggest that patients who experience haematological toxicity may in fact have better clinical outcomes [10, 11, 24]. Conversely, those who do not experience adequate haematological toxicity may be receiving less than their optimal individual threshold dose of chemotherapy. If this model is applied to the context of treatment-related toxicity, it would suggest that patients experiencing toxicity were initially receiving a dose at or in excess of their individual threshold. "

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC32340...

Dosing for chemo is kind of standardized for everyone but we know that people respond to drugs quite differently. Was your subsequent dosage adjusted or delayed to give you more time to recover?

I had febrile neutropenia and ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics after my first round. For my second round I was way more careful & I did not get sick (but I also switched from grastofil to neulasta so I don't know which helped the most). But some strategies to protect yourself from infection when your neutrophils drop (the drop usually starts 3 days post chemo for me but you should ask your MO about your regimen)

-rest; 8-10 hours of sleep per night; my exercise was just going for walks for fresh air in areas where there are few people; but no housework or chores or working outside the home;

-no raw fruit or veg; everything was steamed or cooked

-no eating out or take out; well prepared foods, thoroughly and properly heated; be careful with leftovers

-laptops, phones, tv remotes, light switches, door handles. fridge door, kitchen cabinet knobs etc etc all wiped down with lysol wipe once a day

-no guests; my family all washed their hands immediately when coming home; anyone who even thought they had a sniffle wore a mask; I have a corner of my living room where really only I go except when someone comes to wipe things down

-my pets were all wiped down (by someone else) with a damp facecloth regularly; I wore disposable gloves when pooper scooping etc.

-yogurt daily; my internist thought my infection might have been gut bacteria crossing into the bloodstream due to the chemo destroying the intestinal epithelium; I'm vegan so I use a coconut based yogurt fortified with a culture; I was told not to take probiotic supplements but that yogurt was ok

-use sanitize option on dishwasher; whoever empties dishwasher must wash hands before touching dishes

-my bathroom is for my use only; a family member cleans it thoroughly every few days; towels get washed daily

-no going to stores or running errands; get delivery or someone else to pick up items

-I did have to go to get blood work daily for about 10 days; I went at a quiet time, wore a mask, sat far away from people & kept my hands in my pockets or clasped in front so I wouldn't touch anything & I used disinfecting hand gel pretty much constantly. I wear glasses so my eyes are also protected from someone coughing near me or me rubbing my eye or face. If you don't wear glasses you could get a pair with plain no prescription lenses.

My neutrophils were essentially 0 for a while & that is very scary. I just kind of pretended that everyone around me had some horrible disease (think of the worst type of infectious diseases you can) and acted accordingly.

I hope your next rounds go better!