Interpretation of blood tests and other markers?

[Flip123]

I have been diagnosed with CLL from February 2021. My doctor started me on Calquence shortly after diagnosis. My white blood cell count Shot up to 66K and has now been trending lower and is now at approximately 24K. I have been reading some posts about interpreting blood tests and I need some help understanding what levels are important to watch and if there are other blood tests or any tests I should ask my doctor for. It appears as though many folks here talk about mutations and other markers that are very confusing. I’m sure that I can understand the information if it is presented to me, but I need to know what I don’t know.

My doctor just keeps relying on the overall white blood cell count but as I read this Forum, it appears as though there are many other things I need to look for to determine my chances of a long life and also other helpful information

Thanks in advance for any help

[lankisterguy Volunteer]

Hi Flip123,

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A belated welcome to the club that none of us wanted to join.

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One way to get some quick answers to your question is to look for the box on this page labeled

Related Posts

*Interpretation of blood test healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

*Blood Markers other than ALC and WBC healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

*Interpreting blood results healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

*NEED HELP INTERPRET TEST healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

*Advise urgently needed to interpret \"bloods\" healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

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If you want to get a solid foundation like a CLL 101 course, there are lots of other resources here you can use to climb the learning curve for CLL.

Probably the best is this pinned post with lots of imbedded links.

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

It may take several days or weeks of determined reading, but by the time you read and digest all that you will be well up the curve.

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If you want general tips on living with CLL while Calquence brings your ALC levels down to normal over the next year or two, here is a good resource: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo......

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Let us know any other questions you have.

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Len

[SofiaDeo]

Ditto to Len's advice. The Pinned Posts have a lot of great information. CajunJeff has a number of "CLL for dummies" posts, which help a lot if you don't "speak medical" yet. If you "follow" him, you can tap his profile, and easily access all his posts. I think a lot of them are pinned anyway, so any method of searching for training/learning information will be fine. Whatever works, works!

[AussieNeil Administrator in reply to SofiaDeo]

SofiaDeo and Flip123, there's no need to "follow" anyone to access their past posts. You simply select their avatar. "Following" just gives you a notification when the "followed" member posts.

Here's the Pinned Post section: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo... which includes this post of how to navigate the site: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

Cajunjeff's past posts are listed here:

healthunlocked.com/user/caj...

Neil