Please be reassured that the odds of you dying soon from CLL is very low. CLL is generally a slow progressing disease. Even those of us with poor prognostic markers live with the disease for years. A significant number us are able to live a relatively good quality of life, especially those who are otherwise healthy and do not have co-existing complications.
I was diagnosed in 2015 with a poor prognosis. Today I am showing no CLL in my bone marrow due to a recently approved combination therapy "Obinutuzumab plus Venclexta".
Over the past five years CLL research has been very dynamic, and the effort has produced a number of effective therapies with mild adverse affects.
One of the more challenging aspects of having CLL is having default access to a CLL specialist or a research literate oncologist at the local practice.
A favorable consideration that may help put your mind at ease is to see a CLL specialist who is up to date with the latest research data, able to communicate effectively with you about your individual prognostics, and provide you with an idea of the available treatment options and when you might expect treatment.
As your lifestyle allows, you will learn more about your individual diagnosis and CLL support resources including the rapidly advancing field of research and treatment. With this knowledge you will be less occupied with the uncertainties and become more confident in making choices that improve your outcome.
If you are willing to share your location, someone on this forum will provide you with CLL specialist possibilities in your area. In addition to the many experience opinions expressed herein, we have some resident experts and administrators on the forum who are capable of providing credible responses to specific areas of concern that arise as your awareness grows.
Once you enter into the knowledge base it is encouraging, however, it can also be overwhelming. Pace yourself. Here are a few resources to help you get started.
Jenny - Hopefully your BMB results will clarify things. The changes in the first WBC and lymphocytes given are so minor that they could be caused by something as simple as the fact that the machines used to test were different. My labs often come back with different cut offs for in the bottom of in range - most recently 11.1 to 11.7 for hemoglobin, but for some machines 12 is the low for women. My counts also bounce around from one test to the next.
I have also had labs for the same test ordered by more than one doctor at a lab that couldn’t figure out how to draw once and send the results to both. The blood was drawn at the same time, through the same “butterfly”, but the results were slightly different - sometimes with a count showing as in range on one report and out of range on the other. How the blood is handled once drawn can affect results. And I have had tests which showed a clear lab error, confirmed when the labs were redone.
A drop in lymphocytes from 24.11 to 12.8 could indicate an infection that your system is fighting. How are your platelets, hemoglobin, and absolute neutrophils (not percent)?
A great resource that you might want to check is the videos on patientpower.org done by Dr. Susan LeClair, a lab specialist, about understanding your blood work. I think that watching them might help you become more familiar with what some labs indicate and things that can affect your labs. Dr. LeClair has a gift for making the complicated understandable. I go back periodically to rewatch her videos as I seem to process a little more of what she has covered each time.
BMB results and those for other biopsies can take a little while, as they are often sent out for a second read. I ended up with the slides for one biopsy read at 4 different centers. Most have been read twice. Some doctors are just extra thorough, but as hard as waiting is, it’s comforting to have more than one report that has the same conclusion . Keep us posted. I hope that all of this is just a minor bump in the road of life!
Bmb came back negative for CLL and lymphoma panel. He did state final diagnosis wasn’t on and he believes I have some early form of leukemia but prognosis should be good and to start making healthier decisions. Repeat labs in 2 months. So it is definitely confusing
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