Low platelets - chemo delay

Ki21 1 day ago

4 replies
123 subscribers
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Hi everyone hope you are doing ok. I tried to do a search in here but couldn’t seem to find how to do it! My 7th cycle of CAPOX has been delayed this morning due to low platelets. They have been dipping slowly and on my bloods on Tuesday they were 74 (78 is the cut off) and now two days later they are at 69. I know I have read before that many have a delay in their cycles due to various things but I just wondered if anyone had this and whether it’s normal for it to dip even after the tablets have been stopped and I’ve been meds free for a week. Any ways to get the platelets up or how long I might take to recover and be able to do the next cycle. Thank you all xxx

Loomeytunes2001 1 day ago

Hello Ki21,

Sorry to read this, my husband has been having the same problem and missing cycles.

He has literally just been prescribed GCSF injections I believe to be used after the next cycle.

All the best

Ki21 1 day ago in reply to Loomeytunes2001

Thank you for your reply! It’s frustrating isn’t it as it just prolongs the whole thing. Can I ask what GCSF injections are m? Were you husbands platelets really low - sorry to hear heer he is having the same issue xx

Loomeytunes2001 16 hours ago in reply to Ki21

Hi Ki21,

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/g-csf

Hopefully this will explain it all far better than I could.

I only realised these injections were available from another forum user, as we were previously told by the Onclogy nurse specialist there was nothing we could do to improve the situation! So we decided to ask the consultant last week, and my husband should be able to pick up the injections after his treatment this week, from my understanding you self inject for 5 days.

It is incredibly frustrating, especially when it is happening every other cycle almost, and it has been extremely low, I think the lowest was around 39.

All the best

Ki21 16 hours ago in reply to Loomeytunes2001

Thank you so much - I’ll take a look! I asked them if anything could be done and they said no - then I even said I had heard of infusion or platelets and they said no point as they only last a few days. Maybe mine isn’t wuite low enough for any intervention but I will definitely ask them about this. Thank you xxx