Breast Cancer Treatment And Low Platelets

In most cases this is not the breast itself but the treatment of breast cancer causing the low platelet count. Chemotherapy can make the platelet count falls, as it targets the cells that grow quickly. Tumor cells grow and divide rapidly, but do cells in the bone marrow that produce red blood cells and platelets. Radiation can also cause a low platelet count, also called thrombocytopenia, if this is uncommon with radiation in areas near the breast.

There are drugs called growth factors cell that can be given with chemotherapy or radiation therapy to prevent blood counts from dropping. The growth factor that works for low platelet count is called oprelvekin (brand name Neumega). There is a risk of side effects of this drug, although, if the doctor will decide whether to prescribe based on its assessment of the risk of developing a low platelet count. The doctor will also examine possible heart problems as Neumega side effects include fluid retention and heart palpitations - both of which can aggravate heart conditions. Other side effects include diarrhea and other digestive problems.

This is the big question, the answer is probably in three to four weeks. Doctors can not make an accurate prediction because platelet count depends on many factors, including type of treatment - especially the type and dose of chemo - and the general condition of health. One thing to keep in mind is that the pads will generally not drop immediately after the chemo, it usually takes a week or two. Because the chemo did not kill off the already platelets in the blood, which are mature and do not divide rapidly. It kills the cells formed in the marrow, and therefore there is a late response, with the low number of platelets (called the nadir) occurring usually seven to 14 days after chemo. After that, the body begins to regenerate platelets at a rate of about 10 per cent per day. (Platelets have a lifespan of eight to ten days, so on any given day, about 10 per cent are lost and replaced.), But certain types of cancers and certain types of treatments to suppress the production of platelets, so that the reconstruction process can be much slower.

The answer, in most cases, depends on whether there are bleeding problems, because most doctors treat symptoms rather than seeking only the platelet count. A normal count is between 150,000 and 450,000 per cubic millimeter, but most people do not have serious bleeding problems until their platelet count drops below 50,000, and some will work correctly with a platelet count less than that . "Doctors try not to treat a number because everyone is different and reacts differently," explains Andrew Putnam, director of the palliative care program at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Georgetown University. "If the patient n is not to have bleeding problems, then the doctor will probably let go lower and see if the rate of recovery. "

Bruising and bleeding that does not stop are the two main signs of a low platelet count. Watch, too, for frequent nosebleeds or nosebleeds that will not stop. Women who are menstruating should pay attention to the heavy flow that seems like it will not relax our efforts. Less common symptoms of low platelet counts is the blood in the stool or black stools, tarlike, blood in urine, or a rash of bite size red dots.