wbc

i just found out that my friend, who is 56 years old... was admitted to the hospital with a wbc of 189,000. he has not said anything about leukemia--but i've been reading and i read that a count over 140,000 is like a diagnosis. he has lost alot of weight over the last couple of years-- gets infected easily-- now his stomach is extremely bloated and they told him he has an infection and internal bleeding. this sounds like leukemia to me. am i on the right track here? i don't know what type it would be. i was thinking CLL-- but he is not THAT old and i read it mainly affects older ppl. is the wbc a diagnosis for leukemia? or can it be something else? he's also diabetic-- but he said this has nothing to do with that...?

56 is certainly plenty old enough for CLL.  Be weary of some of the things you read about CLL on the internet or even hear word of mouth.  I am 54 and was dx'd with CLL at 49.  I belong to an internet forum for CLL support and the majority of our members are in the 45-60 range for age.  And at least half or more are women.  So much for "the old man's disease".  I think that term came about when 55 to 60 was considered old and just never got updated for today's younger people.  We have some in their early 40's that have treated already.

WBC alone will not or should not be used to dx CLL.  All that should do is move doctors in that direction if for no other reason than to eliminate it up front.  In this case the bleeding you speak of is probably related to low platelets and this also means that he mets the NCI criteria for treatment.  Always remembe that the numbers mean much less than the symptoms.  Always treat the symptoms as the numbers can vary so much from person to person. 

There will be arguments that the only way to dx CLL properly is by BMB (bone marrow biopsy) but in todays blood testing it appears that dx can be made without it.  But the testing still has to be performed in order to get that dx, so for the new patient whose doctor is not on the ball that may not get done.  I am not indicting doctors here, but a local onc/hema may have a dozen or maybe only 1 CLL patient.  If he/she tells you that you have CLL you should seek out an CLL specialist.  Your doctor will or should work closely with the specialist to make treatment is proper and timely.

 Regards,

Loren

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