Platelets - Continued

Further to a previous thread on this topic...my moms platelet count was 30,000 or so...she is at the doctor today and I guess they tested her again and its still low. So, she is going for a transfusion...I was told by a family member it would take an hour or 2 to do this.
Anyway...is this common to happen to women? this in and of itself is not to be too concerned about right?

My moms doctor did tell her to be careful because she can bruise easily and if she were to bleed it would have a very time clotting.

But apart from this, she seems to be doing ok and the drop in her CA-125 is something Im hanging onto.

[bluesgrlIN]

Hi.  I haven't posted to you in a while, but I am glad things seem to be going well (except the platelet count).  I will pray for you and your Mom when I say my prayers tonight.  Take Care.

~Dawn

[newlifegal]

Drops in platelets isn't all that uncommon as part of chemo.  I wouldn't let that discourage you as it doesn't mean that she can't continue to respond to the treatment.  It sounds like she's getting what she needs and that they're taking good care of her.  Hope the counts come up after the transfusion and that things continue to go well.

[ConcernedInNY]

Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers.  I sincerely appreciate it.

I just spoke with my mom. Her platelets dropped to like 23,000. How can it drop so fast from just the other day?
Anyway, she got the blood transfusion - it only took like 45 minutes to about an hour. She said the IV bag didnt look red like blood...she said it looked like the color of a banana.

Looks like its going to be another delay for her chemo. Can the transfusion boost her up significantly? Or do women who need these transfusions get 2 or more before the platelets reach the desired levels?

Id appreciate any insight on this.

Thanks!

[Thuney]

Platelets often drop during chemo and make it necessary to wait a bit longer for the next round.  My brother would get so weak that we actually had to support him on both sides to get his shower--and even though he had just gotten up, the shower exhausted him.

Still, he made it through all of that.  Although you may have read that my brother died 10 years ago this month, it was not from his cancer.  He had undergone all the chemo and radiation and was doing great--actually drove himself -and US--into the hospital for the surgery.  The surgeons were estatic at how well his surgery went and we were all but dancing in the corridors.  Then, next thing we knew the hospital bigwigs were surrounding us, ushering us into a room and telling us "Oops, we are so sorry, but our anethesiologist made a HUGE mistake and your brother has died."  He was 41--he was great, and I miss him still.

But back to my point for you--yes, his platelets dropped and he got very weak, and he had to delay his treatments several times, but his treatment still progressed well.

Good Luck!

[blndchng]

A related discussion, Low platelets counts was started.