5 January 2009 - Deb sat on bed with a cup of tea and a Welsh cake
Today was supposed to be the start of Deb's fourth cycle of chemotherapy. We went to the QE and Deb had her usual blood test. The important results were:
White blood cells - 13.6 K/uL (reference range 4.1 - 10.9)
Red blood cells - 3.98 M/uL (reference range 4.2 - 6.3)
Platelets - 97 K/uL (reference range 140 - 440)
When we saw Dr Sanghera he was particularly concerned with the platelet count (platelets are tiny cells in the blood that help it to clot. They are made in the bone marrow and usually survive for only 7 - 10 days). The chemotherapy drug is designed to attack cells that are dividing quickly and therefore can have side effects on the short lived cells in the blood. It is recommended that chemotherapy is deferred if platelet levels fall below 100. Dr Sanghera therefore decided to delay the next cycle of chemotherapy for one week and we return to the hospital next Monday for a further blood test. He was concerned that we need to ensure that Deb's chemotherapy dose is appropriate and is not having too severe an effect on her body. To continue with the chemo now may reduce the platelet count even further and lead to significant problems. Fred (Macmillan nurse) said we should not be downhearted at this. It was routine and frequently happened.
We also discussed Deb's palpitations (or arrhythmia as Dr Sanghera called them). During an episode which lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours Deb's heart rate rises to between 185 - 190 per minute and her blood pressure drops to a figure that cannot be measured on our monitor. Deb has had these palpitations for a long time but before diagnosis of the tumour they happened once or twice a year. Now they seem to be happening once or twice a month. (She had one on the evening of our party - just as people were leaving). Dr Sanghera said these were not related to the tumour or the treatment but did need to be treated and we should go to see our GP.
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