Anything to help white blood cell count?

[canadiandaughter]

My dad has his last chemo of this round next Wed and he seems a lot more tired, chilled, just overall hit a lot harder by this last infusion. I am concerned that his white blood cell count will be too low for him to get this one. He also has a cat scan booked for 5 days after which will likely all get changed if he has to miss. I know missing one is not the end of the world, but he has already had to take a week of 2 infusions ago and he felt fine. It really upset him as he is a by the clock kind of guy and does not like change, even thought we tried to reassure him that it was ok, likely for the better to help him fight better. I googled and found nothing except a prescription given by the doctor. I just wanted to check and see if resting more, sleeping, or anything might help. My biggest concern is that we want that catscan done so that we know where we are at, good or bad and can start dealing with it. His last appt with the surgeon was quite upsetting for him and we are so hoping for some good news this time to help bring his spirits back up again.

[Cb75]

I had low counts for most of FOLFOX. My onc prescribe neulesta shots, the other one is called neupogen. I self injected twice a week and never missed another FOLFOX. The side effects aren't great, but it will get you through chemo.

Cb

[raym]

I was on neulasta for a bit. I never had bad side effects but one measure against them was to take a Claritin prior to the shot. This was part of the patient education papers given to me at the cancer center.

[orcasres]

I had one neupogen shot the day before each infusion. I was having serious WBC issues starting with my 5th infusion. Once I started the shots I never had a problem with my WBC. I also had very minimal side effects.

[JDinNC]

I started to receive shots around chemo round 6...twice a week on my down week after treatment...I never had to miss a treatment.

You could also Google...how to improve WBC..there could be a food to help build it up.

[Coppercent]

I started Neulasta shots for low counts about 4 or 5 treatments in when I was on Folfox. I only needed them for a couple treatment cycles. Neulasta hit me hard with fatigue. But I bounced back quickly after stopping them. My oncologist would ask every week how much I was exercising because he was big into keeping active. The weeks I was on the Neulasta my response was that I made it to work and the grocery store. We went to the mall the next day after the first shot and I honestly could not walk the mall without stopping and resting for several times. They were awful for me but they kept me on regular treatments so well worth it.

[Cb75]

You can try some natural approaches to raise your blood counts. For me they didn't work, but they may work for you. One supplement is AHCC http://www.aor.ca/products-page/products-list/ahcc/. There are a few studies that show that this supplement, which is from mushrooms, can also help with overall survival of colon cancer patients (stage I, II and III, it didn't show much benefit for stage IV). Mushrooms are fantastic to support the immune system and blood counts. You can also try, PSK (Turkey tail), Matake and Reshi. There is a good supplement with many of these extracts http://purica.com/products/immune-7. I prefer to take them separate and in a higher dose, but this supplement is available in most nutrition/drug stores and is of good quality.

cb

[JDinNC]

I also read about glutathione..stating our liver rely on glutathione to filter out and eliminate toxins. Our body can't make adequate WBCells without the help of glutathione. Boosting our glutathione levels can optimize macrophage function . Macrophages are WBCells.

As we grow older our body doesn't make enough Glutathione.

Jan

[rp1954]

Alpha lipoic acid and N acetyl cysteine boost glutathione production and can be very inexpensive online. PSK worked well for WBC with 5FU-LV alone.

[canadiandaughter]

Thanks everyone, lots of info for me to check out, appreciate all the input!! I had googled foods etc, and all I came up with was eating healthy, which he does already. I will be checking out some of these supplements you all have mentioned and get my mom to ask the oncologist about shots for him. Crossing my fingers he will be good to go this week, as he will be getting a chemo break for one session for sure after this as they decide on what the next plan is.

[meatie]

@canadiandaughter

If the second to the last infusion hit your dad hard, I am sure it hit the cancer cells just as hard. If the results of the most recent blood work are not too bad, then definitely have your dad go through with this last infusion just to get this cycle over with.

Good luck!

[canadiandaughter]

Meatie, I don't make the decision, his oncologist does. I want him to get it so he is done this full round and can get his catscan. I would never interfere with what the doctor has planned as we are trusting that he knows what he is doing. My concern was that my dad would be too low and miss this last infusion and have all his scans etc bumped back a week. They take his blood work on Tuesday before his chemo on Wed.