New, Not Sure Where To Post a Question or 2

[joycep]

I have been informed that my wbc is twice the norm.

It was chest, arm and back pain that brought about that blood work.

The coughing, fatigue and shortness of breath just seemed to "be there" as well.

A "particular" set of lab work is being done, the results to come...

I can read, have had 8 members of my family die with various types of cancer.......yet. I suppose my number 1 question, is what in heavens name am I possibly facing........ or am I over reacting ?

I will apologize in advance if this fails to make sense.

Thank you, for any opinions, advice etc.

[DeanCarl]

I don't think you're over reacting. It's pretty natural to be worried when there are things going on with your body and you're not sure just why.

BUT ..... There are a LOT of things that could be causing what you describe and most a lot less nasty than cancer. The first thing that pops into my head is some kind of infection. That would cause all the symptoms you describe and have nothing to do with cancer.

So the thing to do now would be to take a deep breath and wait for those test results. I know that may be hard to do, but there's no sense borrowing trouble.

Good luck on all this.

Dean

[Joe B]

My wbc's were just recently very high... mine were artifically brought high by Nuepegen shots after the chemo brought them too low to begin with (thats a whole different story...)

The symtoms I felt when they were high were very similiar to what you are describing.....

I agree with Dean, this could just be an infection you have..... could be alot of different things.... did they order a chest x-ray or CT?

[joycep]

Thank you so much for your reply. As someone who always chooses the most optimistic outlook, I have surprised myself to no end of late.

You are correct, and in some recess of my brain, i know this.

Thank you for taking the time to make an old woman shut up and take that breath.

[joycep]

There was a chest xray done, but no one would discuss that with me, as they were thinking I had suffered a heart attack. My heart function dropped so low during a stress test, they then concentrated on, what they thought to be a severe artial clog. Though there was some heart damage ( no explanation) they referred me back to internist, re my symptoms and wbc.

So, as you and Dean have suggested, I'll wait it out.

Thank you for your reply.

[Lisa O]

I'll say a prayer that it is not anything serious.

Lisa

[john]

Your wbc goes up in response to any infection or even eating. My wife had high white counts over a period of a year, the last one was normal.

Wbc's in leukemia and lymphoma can be 7-10 times higher. So hopefully it is nothing

They may do a differential wbc to determine what type of white cell is actually elevated. There are I think 5 types of white cells