Platelet count continues to drop since finishing chemo

Posted by thenry612 @thenry612, Oct 21 4:14am

Hello. My husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer in July of this year. He received 3 of planned 5 chemo treatments as well as 28 days of radiation. He was hospitalized after the 2nd chemo treatment due to potassium being 6.7 as well as severe nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. Chemo and radiation were in preparation for surgery which we learned he is no longer a candidate for.
Last chemo was 9/26/24. On this day, his platelet count was 171. He had remained in the normal range for platelets throughout his chemo and radiation treatments. He has had blood work drawn several times since then and platelets continue to fall. Last blood draw was 10/16 and platelets were 117. RBC still low as well as hemoglobin and HCT. In all the research I have done, it seems as though these counts should be recovering by now. Has anyone else had this issue? Thanks!

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aheid | @aheid | Oct 22 8:28am

My husband had an esophagectomy in June 2023 but didn’t need chemo or radiation. He has been suffering with nausea and/or vomiting since the surgery. Before the operation, all his blood levels were in the normal zone. However, he was unable to tolerate enteral feeding and the longer the intolerance went on, the lower all of his blood levels became.

He was dealing with anemia as a result of malnutrition. Eventually, his j-tube was removed and he began TPN (IV nutrition) but his blood numbers never really improved by much. He has also had low potassium on many occasions. He’s been hospitalized several times relating to the anemia and has had two transfusions within one week because his hemoglobin level was down to 6.5 each time. But TPN has its own issues, and he’s also suffered with gallbladder problems, common with people on TPN, especially when there’s little food by mouth.

I believe that the answer to all of this is food. Is your husband eating anything by mouth?

thenry612 | @thenry612 | Oct 23 4:03am

In reply to @aheid "My husband had an esophagectomy in June 2023 but didn’t need chemo or radiation. He has..." + (show)

Good morning. Yes, he is taking food by mouth. Some days his nutritional intake is greater than others. He has not used the J Tube for feedings since the first part of September. At that time he only used it for about 2 weeks. This was during the time he was receiving chemo/radiation.
Since his last chemo/radiation, his chemistry profile has been improving. It is just the CBC that is continuing to drop.

aheid | @aheid | Oct 23 7:55am

If it gets low enough, they may do a bone marrow biopsy to see if there's something else going on with the body's manufacture of red blood cells. My husband went through this. However, your guy's blood numbers may be the result of chemo and/or radiation....and least he's eating and that's a good thing. Good luck.