Today, my mom receives her last dose of chemotherapy for this first cycle. We are on Day 11 and the drug is called Vincristine (brand name = Oncovin). It is given intravenously through her picc (peripherally inserted central catheter) line. Her Complete Blood Counts (CBC) are as follow:
- White Blood Cells: 0.3, severe neutropenic, high risk of infection. Normal is 5.0-10.0 in healthy adults.
- Hemoglobin: 9.2, no need for transfusion! Normal is at least 12 for women.
- Platelets: 58. Normal is 150-400. Concerning is below 20. She is low, but not at the concerning level.
The WBC count is what we are watching the most. It needs to get above 5 for the doctor to let her get on the plane and above 2 for me to stop worrying about random visitors! More about neutropenia and white blood cell counts here.Here's to a restful night.