Good morning @ames, welcome to Mayo Connect, I’m happy you stumbled across our forum. I hope you’ll take the time to peruse the more than 75+ groups. You’ll find that Connect is unique and very welcoming. We members all work together to help answer questions and offer support based on our personal experiences. Feel free to jump into any conversation where you feel you can contribute.

I’m so sorry for the loss of your mother. Given your mom’s leukemia history, I can certainly understand your concern and you’re wise in having blood numbers checked annually. But don’t live in fear of developing leukemia. Most cases of leukemia are totally random and usually not familial or genetic, just random mutations, as was my acute myeloid leukemia. I had no family history of blood cancers (except my brother and his was chemically induced with Agent Orange).

When you do see your blood results, try to put the CBC in context with regard to other blood parameters. Are your hemoglobin, absolute neutrophils, platelets and RBC counts all within normal limits? Being only .1 under the lower limit could easily fall within random testing variations. Unless other blood parameters are showing a shift, it’s really not a big cause for concern. One point in time does not a trend make…if you have leukemia, you will see a trend.

What type of leukemia did your mother have?