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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
low platelets
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic - Breast cancer
Cleveland - OH
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
low platelets
by cheryl4WD, Oct 21, 2008 02:04PM
my platelets have dropped to 49(australia). istopping the Xeloda for approximately 4 weeks hasn't made them increase. i'm now booked in to see a haematologist and the probability of having a bone marrow biopsy as the breast cancer may have metastitised to my bone marrow thus reducing my platelets..
my question is, my tumour markers are only 290(which I think is still relatively low) so there isn't a real lot of cancer in my body. so why are my platelets so affected???
my question is, my tumour markers are only 290(which I think is still relatively low) so there isn't a real lot of cancer in my body. so why are my platelets so affected???
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Oct 22, 2008 06:09AM
, Oct 22, 2008 06:09AM
Dear Cheryl4WD, Platelets having dropped so dramatically and not rebounded after discontinuing chemotherapy would need to be put into context of your entire situation. Many factors could influence platelet counts such as prior treatment, length of time on medication etc. Having the oncologist and/or the hematologist evaluate your situation completely makes sense. The bone marrow biopsy is done to see what is happening in terms of the blood producing cells in the body. By checking the bone marrow the hematologist is trying to find clues as to why your blood counts are not recovering as anticipated and not necessarily to see if the breast cancer has spread to the bones.
