a little confused

[Frankwt]

I have had two FBC, one in 2020, when I had a swollen toe, and one just last October. In 2020 my lymphocytes were just above normal..I didn’t notice this and it was marked as no action. Last October I was feeling lethargic and asked to have my thyroid function tested. I was called in to see the gp as my lymphocyte count was 7.56. My Gp wants a repeat test in March 2023. She did think I had the beginnings of CLL. No referral to a haematologist yet.

Have I definitely got CLL? At what point are you given a diagnosis? Could these high lymphocytes just be caused by infections? Thank you.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

Hi Frank,

You are correct that your high lymphocyte count could be just due to an infection. You can also take comfort in not having to have a follow-up check for 3 months. If your GP becomes suspicious that the cause of your high lymphocyte count is more than an infection, yes, the likely next step is a referral to a haematologist. This consultant will examine you for signs you might have CLL or other blood cancer, such as swollen nodes or spleen and do a special blood test to see if the reason for your slightly raised lymphocyte count is due to a population of clonal lymphocytes. If you have these and they are clonal B cells matching the pattern for CLL, you've found an excellent community to support you.

Keep in mind as you, with some trepidation wait out the next 3 months, that CLL is a chronic disease. The fact that your lymphocyte count has only slightly risen slightly in 2 years indicates that if you do have CLL, it's probably only slowly increasing. It could in fact be lower in your next blood test; counts move up and down and it's trends that are important. Around 30% don't need treatment, because it's standard to just keep observing until changes in your health indicate that you need treatment. There's no lymphocyte threshold for starting treatment, with some of us having counts in the 100s.

Please let us know what happens in March.

Neil