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Anyone have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)?
Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: 3 hours ago | Replies (356)Comment receiving replies
I was just diagnosed with CLL, I was healthy until this, am age 70. I'm at the Wait and See (or as ive heard Wait and Worry), and I haven't seen what NUMBERS (WBC and Absolute Lymphocytes) need to be for it to get to the "it's time for treatment". I've had a PETSCAN which showed some minor lymph enlargements but no liver or kidney or spleen issues (CLL related, anyway). Ate reasonably healthy but have cut out any bad foods and only what's reccomended. Any input or advice? The STRESS of it seems to be the bad part for me because I have felt totally healthy until the bloodwork said "not so fast bubba...".......
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Hi @ppolockaz, in Dec'23 it was discovered that I had a high WBC (50), which started me on a 5 month journey of tests. I had no pronounced symptoms that I had noticed so it came as a total surprise. The short story is that I ended up being dx'd with CLL (see my other posts for more if you are interested).
For me, treatment amounted to taking a pill twice a day (Zanubrutinib/Brukinsa) and going for periodic visits to Mayo. I didn't get or need any infusions. The transition to this way of life (taking those pills, being more wary of situations that could lead me to getting sick) was mostly not a big event. I feel mostly the same, and do all of the things I did before.
If / when you get to the point of needing any meds, at least in my experience, it didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as a had first imagined it might be.