Mom 63

Hi

My Mom had T1N1M0. Had Mastectomy and was told she needed 12 weeks chemo plus 5 weeks radiation. She had her first treatment of chemo three weeks ago and was supposed to have her second dose today but was told her blood cell count was too low and to come back next week. What does this mean? Is the chemo not working? Should she have rested more over the past 3 weeks. She is very active.

Thanks for your help.
Mab

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Mab:  Chemotherapy affects both cancerous and non-cancerous cells in the body.  It most affects cells that are rapidly dividing.  This is why hair may fall out, some folks get nauseated, and the blood counts drop (the chemo affects the cells in the bone marrow - red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets).  The concern is that if her white blood cells are too low, she could get an infection and have no resistance.  So the doctors want to wait until they are higher rather than knock the rest down while they are low.  There are medications that can be given to boost their growth and you could ask her doctor about that (they are growth factors).  Her activity had nothing to do with this.  This is an expected side effect.