Hey all, just wanting a little advice. I am on a chemo regime which has treatment day 1 and top up day 8. Tomorrow is my day 8, but I am missing the treatment cos my bloods aren’t up to more chemo. My nurse told me not to worry, but just wondering if anyone has had experience of this and knows what the impact might be if anything?
Ruthie x
Written by
Ruthie62
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Good morning Ruthie. It's funny in a bizarre way how being told we can't have chemo seems to send us into a spin. Like you I missed several weekly doses due to struggling red and white cells and I was really upset but it all worked out well in the end and the cancer didn't go into overdrive at all. In fact it continued to be attacked while I was resting. Please don't worry as your body needs to be in good condition to cope with the drugs and if it struggles a bit then that's normal and you'll be surprised how quickly it recuperates once the chemo wears off a bit. You'll be fine. Take care. Love Kryssy xxx
Hi Ruthie. I think I lost count of the times chemo was postponed for one reason or another but it had no impact on the end result. Try not to worry about delays xx
I was on carbo/gem for my second line treatment (just finished last week) and I never had the Day 8 top up. I agreed with my onc from the outset that I wouldn’t have it, and she said that it normally ends up postponed or cancelled, and that in her experience missing it out has little impact on the overall result. I haven’t had my final scans yet, but fingers crossed, her assessment seems to be accurate.
I think that’s going to happen to me as if my bloods are up to it on the second treatment then I can’t imagine they will be up for it round 3 onwards? Thanks for this info. It’s clear that day 8 is much less important than I imagined! Xx
It almost makes me question why they give it?! A lot of people end up with it being dropped by cycle 3 or 4 anyway, and like I said, I just agreed from the outset not to have it at all. My hospital is a long way from home, and it made no sense for the sake of a 30mins infusion, plus my bloods had taken a hammering in the first line treatment. My oncologist is one of the very best, and I trust her judgement. Hopefully the scan results will back this all up!
Yes let’s hope that’s the case, it does seem a lot of additional needles for not as much benefit as I thought. Xx
Over my three courses of chemo, there were dose reductions, and missed or delayed treatments due to blood results. In the grand scheme of things, these occasional blips do not make any real difference, although they were always, in my experience, upsetting at the time.
I know, there is definitely a comical side to it. We dread having it, then dread not be able to get it. I am usually very together during treatment but remember, rather embarrassingly, bursting into tears on the ward when they told me that I would have to have a dose reduction on my Day 8 Gem treatment!
It’s because we are so focused on beating the cancer and clinging on to the chemo as the way forward that it’s easy to forget our bodies are also busy battling on our behalf and sometimes a break helps (at least that’s what I’ve decided this evening!! 😜😜) xx
I had carbo gem last time around and yes day 8 could be a downer where bloods were concerned. My white cells my red cells. I missed two sessions of day 8 and didn't need to do catch up which was great and I did fair well with a stable result after chemo, Try not to worry eat small meals more often rather than big meals adding liver and brocolii that will help red cells
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.