help

[operashel]

in limbo awaiting hematology f/u i have had wbc bt 17-21` for 4 yrs with anc 79.6% neut 15,000-16,400 last two yrs neutrophils steady increase anemia 10.5 lost 40 pounds in a year in last 6 mos now i sweat at night im so weak and fatigue i was phila chromosome neg i vomit daily i can keep down 1 can of soup a day

[Ken_PA]

WBC getting up to 21? There's a common drug called prednisone that can do that. I mention this to indicate that  21 is not so sky high that only a cancer can do so. Prednisone affects immune cells, btw, and especially increases neutrophils in blood tests. It is similar to a natural hormone called cortisol.

[Ken_PA]

WBC getting up to 21? There's a common drug called prednisone that can do that. I mention this to indicate that  21 is not so sky high that only a cancer can do so. Prednisone affects immune cells, btw, and especially increases neutrophils in blood tests. It is similar to a natural hormone called cortisol.

[operashel]

no prednisone severe weight loss profuse sweating and bruising  continued high wbc count

[Ken_PA]

Hi, the thing I'd keep foremost in mind at this point is that the worst possible causes (such as blood cancers) are NOT the most likely causes. In fact, all of your symptoms can be explained by some mystery immune system condition.

Everything at this point must be seen in terms of probabilities. A neutrophilic leukemia (CML or AML) would probably have already been diagnosed after two years. But a mystery immune condition often takes multiple years to diagnose. Your tiredness and weakness can be explained by the anemia. A possibly inflamed GI tract and resulting lack of calories can easily explain the weight loss, as opposed to cachexia from a cancer. What happened when you tried an antihistamine/antacid drug like Pepcid? I'm assuming you've had some scans looking for cancers, and nothing was found.

But although a cancer is not the most likely, a doc still has to set about with first ruling out cancers. So you should expect those kinds of tests, such as for the Philadelphia Chromosome found with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and the odds are good that such future tests will be negative for you. Doing tests for cancer does not mean that a doc thinks a cancer is likely, it's just how they have to proceed.

Night sweats can easily have other causes besides cancer, even Lyme disease. Or certain immune cells running amok.

So then, anything can happen, but there are valid reasons to think that it won't be cancer. It's ironic that you should be hoping for a mystery immune condition that is difficult to diagnose, but that's the better alternative. A doc should ask about any related family history.

Another possible alternative is a genetic condition. There are some genetically caused neutrophilias that a hematologist can consider. Though none seem to fit perfectly, it's also not unusual for those conditions to be not precise.

Please let me know how things go for you. Write again any time.