Low White Blood Cell count

If your GP is not helpful, see your medical oncologist. They are used to dealing with neutropenia caused by prostate cancer treatments.

I should add that when my husband's white cell count plummeted during treatment, he got injections of Neulasta. It stimulates the growth of white blood cells which are necessary to avoid infection, which is the major risk of having neutropenia.

My WBC count was low for some time after my April-May 2021 proton radiation treatments, but has since returned to within normal range. (See attached graphic from just prior to starting radiation up through last month; the lowest mark is 3.3.) I never experienced any adverse side-effects during those few years of low WBC.

Funny I asked my radiologist if my radiation was the cause and he said not likely but my oncologist and PC said the opposite, who do you trust ?

As for who to trust, it’s not about trust. It’s about verifying.

From what I’ve read, radiation therapy for prostate cancer can sometimes lead to a low white blood cell count, a condition known as neutropenia or leukopenia. This occurs because radiation can damage bone marrow, where white blood cells are produced.

So, if my doctor tells me something (one way or the other), I check legitimate sources and verify it for myself.

Thanks

Yup, radiation will do that. ALL of my blood results were markedly lower and consequently, I had more fatigue.
My RO said that he notices this more with patients who’ve had pelvic radiation; big chunky bones filled with marrow getting zapped with damaging beams.
Recent bloodwork showed good recovery, however. The time will vary for different individuals.
Phil

I' m 73 and was diagnosed in Febuary will Stage 4 metastatic PC Gleason 8 (4+4), also have some heart issues, 3 stents 1 year ago. I just had my 1st round of 6 cycle of Chemo-Taxotere 2 weeks ago to complete the "Triplet" treatment ( Lupron, Nubeqa & Taxotere). Just spent 6 days in the hospital with extremely low WBC of 0.3 and Abs-Neut of 0.04, was treated with daily injections of Nivestym to bring WBC and ABS-Neut back to the normal range. The hospital's oncologist suggested that if I had been given Neulasta the day after chemo I may have avoided all these issues. My regular oncologist had not even suggested it as a preventative measure after chemo.
Has anyone had good results using Neulasta the day after chemo in preventing major drops in WBC.

I have had low, out of range WBC for at least a few years. It definitely ties it back to when I had radiation. It never got back in range since, but it gets close. Fortunately, I rarely get sick, so I don't notice. But I recently started chemo and insurance would not cover the desired drug to increase my blood cell counts. So we used a workaround. A few days after each infusion, I inject myself with Zarxio five days in a row. It increases my fatigue a lot, but I feel great a day or two after the last shot until the next round.

YES--Neulasta injections the day after chemo are the way to go! My husband's white cell count plummeted the day after his first infusion of taxotere, and we had to race to the ER. He was diagnosed with febrile neutropenia and admitted and given Neulasta to bring the white cell count back up, as well as Tylenol for fever.

We learned that the oncologist hadn't mentioned Neulasta because insurance would not cover a Neulasta injection after a chemo infusion until after the patient has a crisis--ridiculous. But once the patient has neutropenia after an infusion, then a Neulasta injection the day after each subsequent infusion is covered.

Because my husband's chemo infusions were on Friday, and the infusion center is closed on the weekends, he got an OnPro device put onto his upper arm at the time of each infusion since we couldn't get the Neulasta the next day. The device automatically injected the Neulasta about 26 hours after the infusion. Only a tiny pin prick feeling at injection, and the device was easy to remove afterward.

So do get the Neulasta after each infusion, and ask about the OnPro device if you don't want to or can't return the next day for the injection.