How can you tell if you have low blood cell counts?
| Condition | What to look for |
| Low white blood cell count | Fever higher than 100.5 F (38 C) Chills ... |
| Low red blood cell count | Fatigue Chest pain Dizziness Shortness o ... |
| Low platelet count | Bleeding Easy bruising Heavy menstrual b ... |
Does a low blood count mean I have cancer?
A person with cancer can develop a low WBC count from the cancer or from treatment for the cancer. Cancer may be in the bone marrow, causing fewer neutrophils to be made. The WBC count can also go down when cancer is treated with chemotherapy drugs, which slow bone marrow production of healthy WBCs.
What are the dangers of low blood count?
The most serious complications of low blood cell counts include:
- Infection. With a low white blood cell count and, in particular, a low level of neutrophils, you're at higher risk of developing an infection. ...
- Anemia. A low red blood cell count is anemia. The most common symptoms of anemia are fatigue and shortness of breath. ...
- Bleeding. Low numbers of platelets in your blood can cause bleeding. ...
Does low platelet count always mean cancer?
You can develop a low platelet count if your body does not make enough platelets or if your body loses or destroys platelets. A low platelet count is a common side effect of cancer and treatment. For example, chemotherapy can lower your platelet count.
What does it mean to have a low blood count?
Low hemoglobin level means the person is anemic and can result in symptoms like fatigue and shortness of breath. The normal range of RBC is: The normal ranges can differ for different laboratories and also differ depending on the measurements or samples.
What does it mean when your white blood cells are low during chemo?
Chemotherapy attacks fast-growing cancer cells, but it can also affect other fast-growing cells of the body, such as those that produce white blood cells in the bone marrow. This can lead to low white blood cell counts and increase the risk for infection. Your medical team will check your WBC count during chemotherapy.
How do you increase blood count for cancer patients?
They can recommend high-protein foods to boost your intake. They may recommend a multi-vitamin that contains B12 and folate, as these vitamins are needed to produce WBCs. Some patients turn to herbal supplements to boost immunity, though there is no evidence to support their use.
What does low hemoglobin mean in a cancer patient?
When you don't have enough healthy red blood cells, you have a condition called anemia. This means your blood has lower than normal hemoglobin (Hgb) levels. Hemoglobin is the part of the red blood cell (RBC) that carries oxygen to all the cells in your body. Anemia is a common side effect in patients with cancer.
How can I increase my red blood cells during chemo?
If chemotherapy causes anemia, your doctor may prescribe medications called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). ESAs are forms of erythropoietin made in the laboratory. They work by telling your bone marrow to make more red blood cells.
What happens when blood count is too low for chemo?
Rarely, dangerous internal bleeding can occur. A low platelet count can delay your treatment. You may have to wait until your platelet levels go up in order to continue with chemotherapy or to have surgery. A low platelet count can also be treated with a platelet transfusion.
What type of cancer causes low hemoglobin?
Gastrointestinal cancers, like stomach or colon cancer, can cause anemia. Bleeding often happens with these conditions. When you bleed a lot, you lose red blood cells faster than your body is able to make them. Your kidneys make a hormone that triggers your bone marrow to make red blood cells.
Why do cancer patients need blood transfusions?
Cancer patients may need platelet transfusions if their bone marrow is not making enough. This happens when platelet-producing bone marrow cells are damaged by chemo or radiation therapy or when they are crowded out of the bone marrow by cancer cells.
Can chemo drop hemoglobin?
In many people with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy, once hemoglobin levels begin to fall, they can continue to decrease. In a clinical study, it was shown that 35% of patients had a decrease in their hemoglobin levels (from below 10 g/dL to below 9 g/dL) within 3 weeks of chemotherapy.
Does chemotherapy cause low hemoglobin?
Chemotherapy-induced anemia is also common in people with low hemoglobin levels prior to treatment and people receiving platinum-based chemotherapy medications, according to the American Cancer Society . These medications include: cisplatin.
What is the fastest way to increase red blood cells?
Eating an iron-rich diet can increase your body's production of RBCs....Ironred meat, such as beef.organ meat, such as kidney and liver.dark, leafy, green vegetables, such as spinach and kale.dried fruits, such as prunes and raisins.beans.legumes.egg yolks.
How long does it take for blood counts to recover after chemo?
Conclusion: After starting chemotherapy for ALL, platelet recovery can be expected after two to three weeks while neutrophil recovery lasts three to five weeks. Platelet and lymphocyte counts after two weeks treatment may give an indication of residual disease after four weeks.
Is low red blood count serious?
A low RBC count can be dangerous. However, several disorders can cause an RBC count to be higher than expected. The medical terms for this are polycythemia or erythrocytosis.
What's Measured in A Blood Cell Count?
If you're undergoing certain cancer treatments that could cause low blood cell counts, your doctor will likely monitor your blood cell counts regul...
What Causes Low Blood Cell Counts?
Cancer-related causes of low blood cell counts include: 1. Chemotherapy. Certain chemotherapy drugs can damage your bone marrow — the spongy materi...
Why Is It Important to Monitor Your Blood Cell Counts?
Low blood cell counts can lead to serious complications that may delay your next round of treatment. Monitoring your blood cell counts allows your...
How Can You Tell If You Have Low Blood Cell Counts?
Unless your blood cell counts are very low, you probably won't experience any signs or symptoms and you won't be able to tell that your blood cell...
How Are Low Blood Cell Counts Treated?
If you have low blood cell counts, your treatment will depend on which counts are low and what's causing the low numbers. Common treatments include...
How Can You Cope With Low Blood Cell Counts?
Take steps to keep your body healthy when you have low blood cell counts. For example: 1. Eat a balanced diet. Your body needs all the vitamins and...
Why do cancer patients have low blood counts?
The most common reason cancer patients experience low blood counts is as a side effect of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by destroying cells that grow rapidly, a characteristic of cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy also affects normal cells that grow rapidly, ...
What is low blood count?
A blood count is a measurement of the number of blood cells an individual has in circulation based on laboratory evaluation of a blood sample. Blood is composed of three basic blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. You should have billions of these blood cells circulating throughout your body.
How does chemotherapy affect blood counts?
However, bone marrow cells also divide rapidly and are frequently damaged by chemotherapy. The best way to treat low blood counts is to prevent them before they occur . This can be accomplished with the administration of blood cell growth factors.
What is the white blood cell count?
White blood cells: White blood cells help protect individuals from infections. The above CBC report shows that the patient’s total white cell count is 1.5, which is lower than the normal range of 4.0-10.5. The low white cell count increases the risk of infection.
What is CBC test?
How are low blood counts diagnosed. A test called the complete blood count (CBC) is used to determine whether your blood counts are low. The CBC measures the levels of the three basic blood cells: red, white, and platelets. In the United States, the CBC is typically reported in the format shown below.
How to calculate neutrophil count?
When the ANC is less than 1,000, the risk of infection increases. The ANC can be calculated by multiplying the total WBC by the percent of polymorphonuclear cells.
What is it called when you have fewer cells than normal?
However, certain circumstances may cause you to have fewer cells than is considered normal, a condition which is called “low blood counts”. The laboratory test that is conducted to measure the number of blood cells is called a complete blood count, or CBC.
Why do blood counts drop?
Low Blood Counts, Fever, and Infections. Cancer and its treatment often cause drops in the levels of some types of blood cells, which can be detected with a blood test. The problems caused by low blood counts depend on which type of blood cell is affected. It's important to understand why blood counts can drop and what to expect if they do.
What does it mean when you have too few red blood cells?
Having too few red blood cells is called anemia. It can cause you too feel very tired or short of breath. Learn what to look for and how to manage it.
What is the term for having too few of an important type of white blood cell?
Neutropenia is the term for having too few of an important type of white blood cell. It can put you at higher risk for infections. Learn more about infections and what to watch for.
What's measured in a blood cell count?
If you're undergoing certain cancer treatments that could cause low blood cell counts, your doctor will likely monitor your blood cell counts regularly using a test called a complete blood count with differential (CBC w/diff). Low blood cell counts are detected by examining a blood sample taken from a vein in your arm.
What are the complications of low blood cell counts?
Low blood cell counts may delay your next round of treatment or lead your doctor to reduce medication dosage or prescribe a new medication. Monitoring your blood cell counts allows your doctor to prevent or reduce your risk of complications.
How can you tell if you have low blood cell counts?
Unless your blood cell counts are very low, you probably won't experience any signs or symptoms and you won't be able to tell that your blood cell counts are down. That's why your doctor may order frequent blood tests to follow your blood cell counts.
How can you cope with low blood cell counts?
Take steps to keep your body healthy when you have low blood cell counts. For example:
What does it mean when you don't have enough red blood cells?
What is anemia? When you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells, you have a condition called anemia. This means your blood has lower than normal hemoglobin (Hgb) levels. Hemoglobin is the part of the red blood cell (RBC) that carries oxygen to all the cells in your body.
How to treat anemia in cancer patients?
Raise the hemoglobin level so that symptoms get better. The most common treatments of anemia in patients with cancer include: Iron therapy. Red blood cell transfusion, commonly known as blood transfusion.
How does anemia affect your life?
The first thing the doctor needs to know is how severe your anemia is. Anemia can affect your quality of life and has been found to shorten survival in people with cancer. It can make you feel very tired because cells in your body can’t get enough oxygen. In some cases, this lack of oxygen may be bad enough to threaten your life. Anemia can also make your heart work harder. So if you already have a heart problem, anemia can make it worse. Anemia can also make it hard for you to breath normally, making it challenging to do your usual activities.
Why do you need a blood transfusion?
Whether a blood transfusion might be needed depends on how severe your symptoms are and your hemoglobin level.
What to do if you have anemia and can't reach your doctor?
If you can’t reach your cancer care team right away, you may need to get immediate care at an emergency room.
What is CBC blood test?
A complete blood count (CBC) is a blood test that measures your hemoglobin level and other characteristics of your red blood cells (such as their size). This test not only shows if you have anemia, but it can also help your doctor figure out what might be causing it.
What is a certain group of chemo drugs?
Certain chemotherapy drugs such as platinum-based chemotherapy (this is a certain group of chemo drugs) Certain tumor types (such as lung or ovary tumors) Having a low hemoglobin level before you had cancer.
Why does blood cancer treatment cause low blood cell counts?
Chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells, which includes blood cancer cells but also can affect healthy blood cells in the bone marrow. 1
Managing low blood cell counts
In some cases, blood transfusions or medications may be given to boost a person's low blood cell counts. There are also lifestyle approaches that an individual can take, including:
What Are White Blood Cells?
There are several types of white blood cells (WBCs), also called leukocytes, and each can be affected differently by cancer and its treatments. There are five types of white blood cells:
What Causes a Low White Blood Cell Count?
A low white blood cell count can develop as a result of cancer or cancer treatment. You may also be given a more specific diagnosis based on the exact type of white blood cell affected like neutropenia, which is a low number of neutrophils. 1
Preventing Infections
Since white blood cells help defend your body against pathogens, too few WBCs can increase your risk of infections. For people with cancer, their risk of infection is even higher due to weakness, nutrition problems, and other side effects of cancer and cancer treatments. 1
Summary
Cancer and treatments used to treat cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, can lower your WBC count. White blood cells are immune system cells that help defend your body against foreign threats like viruses and bacteria. When the number of WBCs in your body are low, you are at a higher risk of infections.
A Word From Verywell
Some cancers can cause your white blood cell count to increase, but more often it reduces the number of these cells. WBCs power the immune system, and both cancer and cancer treatments can reduce the number of these cells that you have available to fight infection.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Bone marrow and blood cancers, in particular, can lead to high blood counts as the cancer cells cause blood cells to reproduce rapidly. 5
Why do I have fewer red blood cells?
You have blood loss. Diseases and conditions that cause your body to produce fewer red blood cells than normal include: Aplastic anemia. Cancer. Certain medications, such as antiretroviral drugs for HIV infection and chemotherapy drugs for cancer and other conditions. Chronic kidney disease.
Is low hemoglobin count normal?
A slightly low hemoglobin count isn't always a sign of illness — it can be normal for some people. Women with menstrual periods and pregnant women commonly have low hemoglobin counts.
