Support for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses (Part II)

Hey B.B., I took a look at the results—the big question is whether there was already an enlarged lymph node in the retroperitoneum or the portocaval space before this. If there wasn't, then we might be looking at the process spreading. Also, that nodular lesion they mentioned in the lungs doesn't necessarily have to be tied to the tumor; it could just be from some old inflammatory issue or even an injury. For me, the lymph nodes are the priority right now—if you can, please check the previous MSCT scan if there's one available.

Michelle Cook83 said:Hey B.B., I took a look at the report. The real question is whether there was already an enlarged lymph node in the retroperitoneum or the portocaval space before this. If not, it might suggest the process is spreading. That nodal lesion in the lungs isn't necessarily tied to the tumor either; it could just be from some old inflammatory issue or an injury. To me, those lymph nodes are the bigger concern. If you have a previous MSCT scan available, could you take a look at it?

He hasn't had an MSCT done before. He did have some cysts found on his kidneys, so I'm crossing my fingers that the enlarged lymph node is just related to those.
The stomach lymph nodes (there were 12 of them) were removed during surgery, and they found carcinoma in two of them.
If it counts for anything, his CA 19.9 is 5.6. It's within the normal range, which goes up to 37.

Hannah Lopez94 said:He hasn't had an MSCT done before. To be honest, they found some cysts on his kidneys—so I'm really hoping those two lymph nodes might just be swollen because of that.
They removed 12 stomach lymph nodes during the surgery, and two of them came back positive for cancer.
If it counts for anything, his CA 19.9 is at 5.6 (within range)—anything up to 37 is considered normal.

Based on the marker levels, things should be okay—but those kidney cysts wouldn't cause those specific lymph nodes to swell. It’s true they aren't huge, though, so it could still just be some kind of inflammation in that area.

Is there actually a way to figure out exactly how strong someone's immune system is?
(I mean, maybe this sounds like a pretty silly question to ask, but I just had to reach out and see 🤦

Joshua Kim69 said:Is there actually a way to determine how strong someone's immune system really is?
(I realize this might sound like a pretty silly question—honestly, I feel a bit foolish even asking—but I just had to reach out and see if anyone knew.) 🤦

You can get a good idea through standard blood work—specifically by looking at the levels of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes.

ruggedfox11 said:Looking at the blood work, specifically the lymphocyte, granulocyte, and monocyte counts

The latest blood test results:
Neutrophils 8.4 (44-72)
Lymphocytes 68.0 (20-46)
Monocytes 14.0 (2-12)
Eosinophils 6.8 (0-7)
Basophils 1.0 (0-1)

Tumor markers: from October from December
CEA 4.0 4.6
CYFRA 21-1 4.4 6.0
NSE 110.4 17.7

I guess, what can I actually make of all this?

Joshua Kim69 said:The most recent blood test results:
Neutrophils 8.4 (44-72)
Lymphocytes 68.0 (20-46)
Monocytes 14.0 (2-12)
Eosinophils 6.8 (0-7)
Basophils 1.0 (0-1)

Tumor markers: from November from December
CEA 4.0 4.6
CYFRA 21-1 4.4 6.0
NSE 110.4 17.7

What can I make of all this?

If you ask me—and I mean this sincerely—I’d say the immune system is actually doing its job; it looks like new cells are being produced and maturing. If we could be certain this isn't cancer, I'd lean toward it being a viral thing—usually, with a bacterial infection, those neutrophils would be higher. It's also worth noting that markers can spike during an infection, so they don't necessarily signal progression.
What was the total white blood cell count? And the LDH?

ruggedfox11 said:I guess I’d say the immune system is doing its job, maybe creating new cells and letting them mature; if we knew for sure it wasn't cancer, I might suggest it's just a virus, since with bacterial infections you usually see high neutrophils. Markers can definitely be elevated during an infection too, so they don't necessarily mean things are progressing.
What are the total white blood cell counts like? And the LDH?

blood test results
Erythrocytes 3.50
Hgb 107
Hematocrit 0.323
MCV 92.3
MCH 30.7
MCHC 333
RDW-CV 18.9
Platelets 227
MPV 7.0

When I first checked into the hospital, my neutrophils were sitting at 82%, but now they've dropped all the way down to 8.4, even though the normal range is supposed to be somewhere between 44 and 72. I guess I'm just wondering why there's such a huge gap?
Besides that, the lab report in my discharge papers mentioned that some of the neutrophils showed toxic granulation.

Joshua Kim69 said:When I was admitted to the hospital, my neutrophils were at 82%, but now they're down to just 8.4%. They're supposed to be between 44-72%. Why the hell is there such a massive gap??
On top of that, the lab report (in my discharge papers) mentioned that some of the neutrophils had toxic granulation.

That’s because of the chemo.
My dad's numbers tanked hard too, so after his first day of the 6th round, they gave him a shot of Filgast (or whatever it's called, I'm not checking the paperwork right now...) and by the next morning, he was already back up to about 80%...

Joshua Kim69 said:blood test results
Erythrocytes 3.50
Hgb 107
Hematocrit 0.323
MCV 92.3
MCH 30.7
MCHC 333
RDW-CV 18.9
Platelets 227
MPV 7.0

Because of the chemo—the bone marrow really needs some downtime to bounce back. However, they won't administer the injection to boost white blood cell counts unless they drop below 3. My husband was actually given one when he hit 1.6. Right now, the cock isn't eating much—just chicken feet and bacon (real bacon, not those thin strips of Canadian bacon you see everywhere). It’s possible that those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes are just a reaction to the toxic granulation.

ruggedfox11 said:It’s probably because of the chemo. I guess the bones just need some time to recover, you know? But he won't get the injection for his white blood cells unless they drop below 3. They were giving him the shot when he was at 1.6. As for the little guy, maybe try some popcorn or even chicken feet, or maybe some bacon—not that thin deli bacon, but real thick bacon. It's possible those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes are just due to that toxic granulation.

Popcorn?? Are we talking about movie theater popcorn or chicken meat? I'm making polenta right now, and I pick up corn bread pretty often.
He was eating this really heavy, thick bacon—the kind you find at a local farmer's market—every single morning until recently, and then last week he was having breakfast with pork cracklings. He thinks it should all be the same thing, but I honestly don't think it is. A friend actually brought over some beautiful, thick slices of homemade bacon; it isn't from those specialty heritage pigs, but I'm thinking it might be okay.
They usually have chicken feet available at Tyson Foods every now and then, so I think I'll head out and grab some. He'll eat them, even if they aren't exactly his favorite.

Joshua Kim69 said:Popcorn?? Are we talking about actual popcorn or chicken meat? I’m currently making some polenta, and I often pick up some corn bread.
He was eating bacon—the kind you get from the local farmer's market that they call "soap bacon"—every single morning until recently, and just last week he was having pork cracklings for breakfast. He claims it should all be basically the same thing, but personally, I don't think it's quite that simple. A friend actually brought over some lovely, thick, farm-raised bacon—not from those heritage black pigs, but I think it'll be perfectly fine.
I believe Tyson Foods occasionally carries chicken feet, so I'll head out and grab some. He'll eat them, even if he isn't particularly fond of them.

Yes, I definitely meant popcorn. Honestly, I was just as shocked as anyone when I heard about it for the first time.

Joshua Kim69 said:blood test results
Erythrocytes 3.50
Hgb 107
Hematocrit 0.323
MCV 92.3
MCH 30,7
MCHC 333
RDW-KV 18.9
Platelets 227
MPV 7.0

The previous lab work was from December 28, 2017,
but today the white blood cell count was up to 8.6
Hgb 116
Platelets 351
(everything else looks pretty much the same as before)

I mean, how on earth is it possible that L would jump up that much in just five days? I guess maybe it could be because he had bacon again two days ago, but honestly, I'm just not sure if you can really trust that kind of shift... 😳

Joshua Kim69 said:The previous lab results were from December 28, 2017,
but today the white blood cell count was 8.6
Hgb 116
Platelets 351
(everything else looks pretty much the same as last time)

How on earth is it possible for L to jump up that much in just five days? Could it be because he went back to eating bacon two days ago? I mean, you can't really trust 😳

It's definitely possible—the bone marrow is still functioning quite well—but I suspect the spike might have been due to an infection (given those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes). What does the CRP look like?

Quote: my Soul

ruggedfox11 said:It’s possible, since the bone marrow seems to be doing its job just fine, though I suspect it might be due to an infection given those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes. I wonder, what did the CRP levels look like?

I think maybe there’s a bit of an uptick in my CRP levels, though I guess it could just be some random inflammation or something, honestly. I mean, honestly, nobody has even bothered to reach out to him since he finally got discharged from the hospital, I guess.
So, today's the day we finally get those results back for the first time. I guess I just wanted to say DKS.:
So, looking at my blood test results, my eosinophil granulocytes came back at 1, which is right within that normal range of 0 to 7, so I guess everything looks pretty steady there!
It looks like my basophil count came back at zero, which seems to be right within the normal range of 0 to 1, I guess.
It looks like my segmented count came in at 41, which is just a little bit under that 44 to 72 range they usually look for, I guess.
It looks like my non-segmented counts came back at 3, though the reference range says it should be between 0 and 2... so I guess that's just a tiny bit higher than expected, maybe?
So, I was looking over my blood test results, and my lymphocyte count came back at 41, which actually falls right within the normal range of 20 to 46, so I guess everything seems to be looking pretty okay there!
It looks like my monocyte count came back at 13, though the normal range is usually between 2 and 12... so I guess it's just a tiny bit high, maybe?
It looks like my myelocytes came back at 1, though the reference range says 0... I guess that might not be a huge deal, but maybe it's something to keep an eye on?
I guess some of the neutrophils are showing up as toxic granulated, if that makes sense.

Joshua Kim69 The longer this drags on, the less you'll find yourself surprised by what the human body is capable of enduring—or by the kind of findings that can surface in a lab report. Honestly, even little things like mushrooms can be incredibly useful in situations like these...

Angela Wright - it seems to me that you’ve posted a link to the clinical trials database a few times now, but for some reason, I can't seem to track it down here or even find it on my own through a quick search online 🤦 Could you please post that again?

ruggedfox11 said:That could be it, since the bone marrow seems to be doing okay, though I suspect it might actually be due to the infarct, especially seeing those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes. What was the CRP reading like?

The CRP was done this morning and it’s just sitting at 5.1, which isn't too bad considering the normal range goes up to 5. I guess he's been coughing a bit more over the last couple of weeks, and he seems to get tired faster and feels a little less steady on his feet lately.😢
He still manages to finish his usual walk, though he has to stop and rest a few times along the way. He’s scheduled for another dose of chemo tomorrow as part of the fifth round, and then he’ll head in for a checkup at the end of the month, which will probably lead into his final session.

ruggedfox11 said:Yeah, I’m talking about popcorn. Honestly, even I was totally floored when I first heard it too...

Popcorn? Wait, what—please explain??? Are we talking chicken feet?? What’s actually in those? I’m assuming they're cooked and eaten? Is this supposed to help improve blood work? Now, bacon—I get that... I’ve seen it firsthand because several of my friends battling cancer swear by eating bacon to help them through... but please, just clarify this whole thing for me... because my son is dealing with some pretty severe anemia... his ferritin is sitting at a 2... so if there’s anything at all that might help, we’re willing to try anything... Bye!