Blood tests and so on – what does it all mean?

Chemo session 1, Day 10 I have to go for a routine blood test to test my blood counts, I am under no circumstances allowed to get sick. 

Tim is not feeling well and has moved into the spare bedroom.  He is terrified I get sick from him.  My bloods are fine.  My oncology nurse phones to chat about how I am doing – I tell her I am OK, I probably brag.

Day 17: Alarming stomach cramps which have been coming and going over the past few days start to get worse.  They are now agonizing and debilitating, I am sure I wouldn’t feel worse if I was in labour.  I am doubled over on the bed barely able to speak.  I demand to see a doctor immediately. Tim phones the oncologist, who speaks to the GP on duty (mine is not in that day – I cannot wait for her to return).  I see the GP then am ushered in for x-rays and scans.  Extensive tests reveal I am constipated.  I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or relieved.  I am both.  Such I fuss over ‘nothing’ But it is a valuable lesson learned. I start to manage and monitor my ‘movements’ more closely, and on the advice of a fellow chemo patient, keep taking Movicol daily even when I am feeling good and everything seems to be moving well.  Thank you Movicol.

Blood tests are done before each chemo session, and chemo can be delayed if the doctors are not happy with the results.  I am becoming quite used to being poked and prodded by needles, both giving and taking from me.

Understanding Blood tests:

Very simply explained (I am not a doctor – just saying – again)  Blood tests indicate your susceptibility to infection.  If your blood counts are very out of sinc it can be dangerous as it can mean that you can very easily pick up an infection and if you do your body won’t be in a fit enough state to fight it, which can result in a worst case scenario situation.

As a chemo patient blood tests become part of your life.  Blood tests are not fun – but I found it helpful to look away and avert my thoughts and mind elsewhere by making chit-chat with the nurse while my blood was being taken.

As my operation was on my left hand side, bloods are always taken from the right arm, and likewise my chemo is always only administered on the right hand side.

Blood tests are done on ‘Day 10’ and the day before chemo.  If you ‘fail’ your blood test your chemotherapy will be delayed until such time that your blood results are satisfactory.

It is very helpful to ‘understand’ your blood test results.  The results are available almost immediately, and I recommend waiting for them and understanding your risks of infection.

I was lucky my pathology lab would give me a handy printout after each test which would indicate my counts and the expected count so understanding my tests was very easy – but a quick explanation is below:

Hemoglobin (Red Blood Count) – needs to be between 11.5 and 15.5 – red blood cells transport oxygen in the body.

White blood count: – should be between 4 & 11 (white blood cells protect the body from infection)

Neutrophils (white count that indicates susceptibility to infection) – this should be above 1.5  If this is below 1.5 you will be considered neutropenic

Platelets have to be between: 140 and 420 (this is for bruising and bleeding and so on) – if this goes below 50 you may need a blood transfusion.

Here is a site link that explains it much better than I ever could  http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/diagnosing-cancer/reports-and-results/complete-blood-count-tests