elnodel Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Well, Len's been doing really well with the chemo (carbo/taxol as you can see below) and he's weathered two treatments so far. No nausea, nerve pain, joint pain or fatigue. But we went for his blood test after the second sessionyand his WBC count was down -= around 2000. The crucial one, the infection fighting one whose name escapes me right now, was 700. He was given a neupogen injection yesterday and today, plus one more tomorrow, then back for a blood test on Monday. He's had no side effects from the neupogen, and the oncology nurse told us today that the amoung he's getting, 300 mg (I think) usually didn't cause any problems. His count isn't THAT bad, she said. Just wondering if other people had had the same thing and if there was anything more than I could find on the net that I should know. PLUS == he's developed little red bumps on the back of his skull, where his hair has thinned considerably -- looks like a rash to me. We called the oncologist again this afternoon (having been there ONLY an hour and half before) just to check. Probably inflamed hair follicles, they thought, after the hair loss, or perhaps irritation from his hat. We're using hydrocortisone cream on it, and it seems to help. But again, just wondering if others have had the same problem. Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Ellen, It is fortunate that you caught his blood counts before they dipped too low. John's got quite low after a couple of treatments and he ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Hopefully they will keep monitoring them and give him the shots to raise them after each treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bean_si (Not Active) Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 My WBC went down to 900. Months later, it's still at 2900. They gave me shots of neulastin (like neuopogen). I also had bumps on my scalp. I thought they were hives. Very itchy. My onc looked at them and said it was irritation - probably from the wig and sweating, etc. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnodel Posted July 31, 2004 Author Share Posted July 31, 2004 We put hydrocortisone cream, as advised, on the bumps last night and today they were much reduced and not so itchy. So more this morning -- and I'm trying to persuade him not to wear his hat except when Absolutely Necessary (yeah, good luck....). Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nushka Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 I had the same bumps as my hair was falling out. Once the hair folicle was empty and no more stubble remained, the bumps went away. I hope this happens for Len and that soon he can wear that hat without the itch. Thinking of you and wishing you well. Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brm1949 Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 I had the same chemo and my blood counts also went down and was given neuopogen. Aside from some lower back pain everything came back to normal. The pain was associated with drug working, it only lasted a short time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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