My 23 Yr Old Daughter Is Being Tested For Leukemia

My 23 yr old Daughter is being tested for Leukemia, and we are just terrified.  We do not get to see the blood disease specialist until Dec 5th.

 She went in for her normal yearly exam, and the nurse accidently ordered a full CBC, which showed an abnormal Thyroid test, and an unusual WBC since last year.  Last year she had a high WBC, but also high levels of Euric acid, so they contributed the high WBC to gout (she was having joint pain in her feet).  She was given medication, and instructions for diet changes, but never retested only a follow-up check-up, until her next annual.  So, now the doctor feels, the Thyroid is a seperate issue from the high WBC that has been high for over a year now.  (However, she was never tested inbetween time)

She has been battled several rounds with MRSA Staff infection, recently also.

 I guess my question is.... why does her doctor feel she needs to be tested for Leukemia?  He also told her they will be scheduling a Bone Marrow Biopsy.  (However, we have not seen the blood specialist yet).

The original doctor has not called us back yet, to help answer the questions.  He just told my daughter, that her High WBC had him very concerned, and that it was not normal, and he believes the situation to be very serious, then told her, he wanted her tested for Leukemia via blood test and a bone marrow biopsy, and referred her to the Blood disease specialist.

Can this be anything else???  Can it be just the Thyroid????  Any help/advice or questions to ask the specialist or the doctor when he calls back would be much appreciated. 

Lisa 

 

 

 

Not a Dr...but you all will have a good chance of permanent remission, at some point...got 20+ yrs experience...keep the faith...best wishes...you'll have a tuff 4-6 yr. journey, but you all will likely make it to a long and happy life....give some money to St Judes, if you feel like it...a few pennies, dollars or $1,000s,...whatever you can justify...the research there and other venues....have materially effected many outcomes to the positive...best wishes.....

I know you said you were not a doctor, but from what little  information we have, do you think it could be something else besides leukemia? or are the Doctors' generally correct when they suspect Leukemia from the first blood tests that bring up the red flags?

 Any information is greatly appreciated.

do you know what the WBC was?  What about the rest of the CBC?  You cant diagnose leukemia from a CBC but it could be a sign.  The biopsy is needed to be sure.  Any other signs like infections, bruising or fatigue?

At this point I still do not have the WB Count.  The doctor never called back.  My daughter is trying to reach him again today, to get all the numbers.   I believe last year it was around 14,000 and the doctor did tell my daughter it was abnormally consistantly high for a long period of time.

I don't know if this is a system, but just recently (last few cycles) her periods have been really heavy, ... more than her normally cycle.    She has always been fatigued, since puberty, borderline anemic.  

She occossionaly once or twice a year gets some odd rash here and there.... but she is highly allergic to some acne medicines and a plant called Scorpian Weed (found in the desert areas), along with cheap jewelry.... so we always contributed the occasionally rashes to her being allergic to certain things.

She doesn't necessarily bruise easy, but when she does, they are very deep, but it's cause she really hurt herself.

During her pregancy 2 years ago... she had a kidney infection and was hospitalized (put on medication), then 3 weeks before the baby was born she had her appendix removed...she had little bruising around the incission areas, however she contracted a skin infection.  3 weeks later she gave birth via C Section, and contracted another skin infection at the incission area, 3 weeks after the baby was born she had her gall bladder removed, and contracted yet another skin infection.  During the gall bladder incident, her liver and pancreas where being affected. But all has seemed well since then except for the joint pain in her feet which was contributed to gout, and the MRSA infections recently.... the doctors where not sure, why all that happened to her at one time during and after pregnancy.  

She has always been a hot child.  When she was little her fevers would get very bad, they instructed us to put her in ice baths.  But as a child, she was a pretty healthy kid besides fevers when she would get the normally childhood flu or cold.

The doctor did state, that the Thryroid test came back bad enough to put on her on medication right now, but he wanted to wait until she gets tested for Leukemia...... could it just be the Thryroid????  Last year it was normal.

 

The Dr's PA finally called back.  She said my daughters WBC is 11.4... she said it is high, but not off the charts.... and she was going to fax over her CBC test at the first available moment.... since she didn't have my daughters chart in front of her.

 She also said.... the doctor must have seen something that made him suspect Leukemia over other possibilities, and that's why we need to see the oncologist. Soooo, now we wait until our appointment, to see what he has to say, and wait again for further test results.......

 I guess I was just grasping for any other alternative other than cancer.... we will just keep the faith, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

Until our next appointment.

Lisaj

thats not very high.  They may have been elevated blasts in the blood smear.  That would be a clue.  Otherwise it doesnt sound like leukemia given everything you have described.  Let us know what happens.

Thank you for your response..... I wanted to share her original CBC test...the test that was ordered is this:

UBIC ACID;LIPID PANEL;CBC w/DIFF., w/PLT; RETICULOCTYTE COUNT;HOMOCYSTEINE;TSH, HIGH SENSITIVITY;VITAMIN B12 and FULATE;COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL

I am just giving the labs ranges and her results that are out of range per the lab test report.

TSH, HIGH SENSITIVITY  .45 - 4.50  Range       Result  5.80 H

CRP, HIGH SENSITIVITY 13.1 H  Range           Result <1.0

CBC W/DIFF, W/PLT

WBC   4.0-11.0 Range     Result 11.7 H

MONOCYTES  3-15 Range     Results  1 L

URIC ACID  2.2 - 6.5 Range   Results   7.4 H

CHOLESTEROL   < 200 Range      Result 215

HDL CHOLESTEROL

       HDL PERCANT          > 27 Range    24 L

      LDL CHOLEST CAL  <130  Range    144 H

I just realized her Uric Acid is high again..... could the high WBC be due to the Uric acid/Gout again.  and they also said her Thryroid was an issue, however I don't see any result on this CBC regarding the Thyroid, but I am sure I don't know what I am looking for.

Again, thanks for any input.... it is sooo much appreciated, during this waiting period.

The WBC could be elevated due to inflamation or infection.  So the gout could be a cause.  Its not really elevated that much.  Often WBC's will be in the 100's in leukemia.  The thyroid issue shows up in the TSH.  Because her TSH is elevated she is hypothyroid.  You want to be sure of the cause of the hypothyroidism, but if it is something benign then a daily tablet like synthroid would help.  Is she a smoker? 

She smokes occassionally....more of a social thing... apx 2 to 3 cigarettes a month.

Could the oncologist do a blood test and determine from those results if she needs a bone marrow biopsy.... I am hoping she doesn't have to go thru that, or do they automatically do the biopsy when checking for Leukemia.