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What was the first sign?
Hello, I have just a quick question. What was your the first symptom of cancer? What was the first sign? The reason I ask is, because my WBC has been elevated for the past 2 years and it’s really elevated on this lab draw. I have MS and have my labs done every 6 months- a year. My neurologist asked if I see a hematologist or oncologist. I haven’t felt bad just extremely tired. Which that comes with MS, but I can take an adderall and go straight to sleep.
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Isn’t Adderall a beta blocker which slows down your heart rate? I might be wrong but if it is then you would definitely feel very tired. As a cancer patient I never had any symptoms, it was found during a ct scan, some cancers have symptoms but then it’s possibly advanced, it would be better if you’re feeling that something is wrong then see your doctor and ask for help to be sure.
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2 ReactionsNot really sure. They give it to me for being tired, because I have MS. It’s supposed to give me energy and keep me awake.
@trabow28, You’re right. I realized that this medication is not a beta blocker, my apologies.
Hi @trabow28. Some cancers, especially blood cancers such as leukemia can come on very gradually, taking many years to become symptomatic. Doctors will look for trends in blood work. If there are continued increases or decreases following a pattern then often a hemotologist (a doctor who specializes in blood conditions) may opt to do a few more tests to make sure nothing is amiss.
Having elevated white blood cells can caused by any number of issues such as underlying inflammation, infections, blood conditions, etc., If you’re tired and your labs are showing an increase in WBC it might be worth having a consult with a hematologist as a followup. Are your other blood numbers ok?
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2 ReactionsAbdominal pain & vomiting
Weight loss (nausea) was my only symptom. My GP sent me for an endoscopy, hoping to find something, but there was nothing. My mass was found incidentally from an X-ray for broken ribs.
@loribmt some others are also elevated
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1 Reaction@donnademps I’ve lost a lot of weight about 80lbs, but I was thinking that was because I had a hysterectomy.
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3 ReactionsI've survived two stage 4 cancers. Picking the correct words can be hard sometimes.
First symptom was being tired, fatigued, weak. It took a year to determine I had
nonhodgkins lymphoma. Later 6 months to determine prostate cancer.
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2 ReactionsHi @trabow28 Reading through some of your other comments, I’d say, along with your weight loss and elevated blood numbers, it might be worth having a visit with at hematologist. There have been some changes for your health. Some might be attributed to your MS diagnosis but it would probably give you some peace of mind to know for sure.
I don’t know if you will require a referral from your primary care physician for a hematologist or not. But even your PCP could take blood work. Let them know your symptoms and that you would like a complete blood count (cbc) with differential.
A CBC is a blood test that measures your red blood cells, hemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets. A CBC with differential also counts each type of white blood which would be helpful to get a clearer picture of your blood panel.
Have you talked with your PCP?
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