Would like to talk to a chemo nurse please

[JonRN]

Greetings....I have CLL, was dx'ed 12/01, so far W&W, no treatment. 7/30, my WBC was 107K up from 69K on 3/02. The heme wanted to see me back in a month, so I saw him 9/3, he thought I was going to need to start Fludara then. Luckily my WBC went down to 95 K so no treatment yet. I go back 10/15. My plts and all the other #'s are great. I am scared to death, I guess what I need is another nurse to talk to about all this. Please help.

Pappy

P.s. I am 62 y.o.

[sunnygirl272]

pappy,

first off, totally off this topic, thanks for supporting my baby....

secondly, i am not a heme-onc or chemo nurse...i do have a journal article on Fludara, albeit not a really indepth one...will work on editing out the stuff that is not at all related to it adn will post or pm you later...

hugs

[sunnygirl272]

i pmed you..but here is a link also.. http://www.fludara.com/pt/index.html that page is geared towards the laypatient..but there is info in other segments of their site for the medical professional...

[jemb]

I've been a chemo nurse for many years, and would be glad to help you any way I can. We give Fludara frequently and usually have very good results. It has minimal side effects, also. Generally, with stable disease, no treatment is given. Please feel free to pm me with specific concerns and I'll do my best to answer your questions.

[ChemoRN]

Pappy,

I am an inpatient heme onc nurse, so I don't deal a lot with CLL since it is managed outpatient primarily. I have a friend with CLL and have gathered most of my info from trying to help her.

CLL is frequently managed with W&W, but if it's time to start treatment, Fludara isn't bad. Minimal side effects and it frequently has a great response. Best of all, it can be given outpatient - unlike most leukemia therapies that put you in the hospital for weeks at a time. Chlorambucil is also frequently given to treat CLL. Both of these drugs show excellent disease control.

If your platelets and red counts are good, you'll probably tolerate therapy better. At least from the myelosuppression standpoint.

There is also a new drug out called Compath. It's a monoclonal antibody, so it's harder to take, but it's helpful if standard treatment doesn't control your white count. Just letting you know there are further options out there.

Good luck!