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Low white blood cell count

Elphelia
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Hello,  I've been taking Naraparib for two months and ahead of my next prescription I had a blood test which has shown my white cell count has dropped so I've been told to stop the medication and have another blood test in a week.  Needless to say I'm a bit concerned about not taking the tablets.  Will it have an effect on controlling the cancer?

Thank you,

Elphelia 

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    Hi Elphelia

    I’m taking Palbociclib and twice now been told to stop treatment in the last year due to low white blood count. It’s a pain but doesn’t cause too many issues in your treatment plan.  There are somethings you can do to help with this in future though. I change my diet eating more omega three fatty fish and green leafy vegetables and this does help as does eating dark chocolate.

    Hope the treatment is helping

    best wishes

  • Offline in reply to Bassyxx

    Thank you for that Bassy.  I do already eat plenty of fish, vegetables and fruit so hopefully my next blood test will show that my white cell count has risen again.  I’m not keen on dark chocolate but I will get some.  Thanks again,

    elphelia

  • Hello and thanks for posting

    As you probably know drugs like Niraparib can lower the white blood cell count ( WBC). The type of WBC's that fight infections are called neutrophils. When they are very low a person is more likely to get infections because there are fewer neutrophils to fight off bacteria and viruses. In this situation, doctors will often postpone treatment for a week or two until the neutrophil count has recovered sufficiently to have the next course of Niraparib.

    Short delays like this are common and are usually unlikely to have an impact on your cancer. However, if this keeps happening then sometimes doctors may have to consider reducing  the dose of the drug.

    I hope you are able to restart your treatment soon. Give us a ring if you would like to talk anything over. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Celene

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Celene

    Thank you for your reply Celine.  My white cell count is still slightly low so I haven't been able to start the Naraparib as yet.  I have spoken to my oncologist who has reassured me that it'll be ok to be off the medication until the white cells get back to normal.  Thanks again, Elphelia.

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