6 months-Looking at the numbers

My six-month anniversary for finishing chemotherapy has come and gone.  It is already hard for me to fathom that just six months ago I had days where my resting heart rate was 120 and when I would try to ride my mountain bike (for whatever reason) my spinal column felt like it was going to explode.  The day was marked by a routine (6-month) visit to my medical oncologist.  The appointment was pretty straightforward; reviewed how I am doing since finishing chemotherapy, discussed any side-effects I'm experiencing with Tamoxifen, and we all poked and prodded at that little nodule I found in November.  The consensus with this team is that it is probably a normal lymph node that can be felt because of my lack of adipose tissue in my breast.  I was then reminded to not poke and prod at it.

The Huntsman medical oncology team is great, but the most interesting part of the visit was getting the results from my labwork.

Since I like numbers, I made a chart comparing how my lab results fluctuated over the course of my treatment and recovery from treatment.

	2/1/11 (prior to surgeries and chemo)	5/6/11 (3 weeks after 1st chemo treatment)	5/27/11 (3 weeks after 2nd chemo treatment)	6/17/11 (3 weeks after 3rd chemo treatment)	7/29/11 (6 weeks after chemo treatment)	12/16/11 (6 months after final chemo treatment)
WBC count	5.42	7.01	8.33	6.48	3.63	6.82
RBC count	4.64	3.81 L	4.05	4.03	4.21	4.47
Platelets	285	379	280	277	178	193
Hemoglobin	14.1	11.7 L	12.4	12.2	13.3	14.3
Hematocrit	41.3	33.9 L	35.8	36.0	39.2	41.6
Ferritin						34

Note: My labwork was much more comprehensive than this summary, but these are some of the values I was always most interested in.

Definitions: 

L-Low value

H-High value
Chemotherapy's affect on bone marrow:  Chemotherapy suppresses the bone marrow.   Bone marrow produces cells that become white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets making people who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment more susceptible to infection, illness, and anemia.
WBC count:  Cells of the immune system that defend the body against infectious disease.  The Neulasta shot I received after each chemotherapy treatment helps the bone marrow produce more wbc. 

RBC count:  RBCs deliver oxygen to the body tissues.  The Neulasta shot has no effect on RBC production.
Platelets:  Platelets help the blood clot.  High levels of platelets may indicate anemia among other things.  

Hemoglobin: Protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen.  Lower than normal hemoglobin may indicate anemia among other things.

Hematocrit:  % of the volume of whole blood that is made up of red blood cells.  Lower than normal hematocrit may also indicate anemia among other things.

Ferritin: Protein found inside cells that stores iron so your body can use it later.  Low ferritin may indicate iron-deficiency anemia.  

Interesting to note:

My WBC count increased while undergoing chemotherapy.  This is because after each infusion I got a Neulasta shot that helped my bone marrow produce white blood cells.  Clearly this shot was effective in doing its job and I didn't have to become a complete germ-o-phobe during treatment.  

I was always interested in the value of my RBC count because the lower my RBC, the more fatigued I felt, and the less I was able to do.  If it dropped too low I would have needed a blood transfusion.  Fortunately it never came to that.

My lab results indicate that at a cellular level my body is back to pre-chemotherapy status!!!!!!!!, I am now most interested in my ferritin level. My plant-based diet is not especially high in iron and my ferritin levels are on the low end of normal.  Because of this, my oncologist recommended I take a small iron supplement.  

Now that my six-month anniversary is in the books I look forward to my seven-month anniversary being celebrated by my first MRI and Sonocine since finishing treatment.  That comes after my little trip to Hawaii with my favorite person in the world though!