I went for my third treatment today in the middle of the first cycle of the cyclophosphamide, bortezomib (Velcade), dexamethasone, and Darzalex treatment regimen that I'm on. After my blood results were available, I was told my dosage for cyclophosphamide would be cut in half, 250 instead of 500, due to my white blood cell count going from 5.5 to 2.5 and my neutrophils being low as well.
Is this normal so early in the treatment?
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Re: Cyclophosphamide dose reduction in first cycle?
Hello Jessi,
I hope that your blood counts bounce back with the lowering of the cyclophosphamide dosage.
I can't directly answer your question since I have not been on the same treatments, but I did have problems with Revlimid treatments that way after the stem cell transplant. My white blood counts sometimes went below the normal range of 4.0 - 11.0, and I was taken off the Revlimid temporarily. So when that happened I waited to start treatments again until my WBC improved, and the dosage was lowered too. This didn't make any difference to my outcomes though, thankfully, since I did eventually reach a remission. So hopefully your treatments can be customized to suit you so that your blood remains healthy during the process.
Hope that is helpful, but others may have more specific information for you!
I hope that your blood counts bounce back with the lowering of the cyclophosphamide dosage.
I can't directly answer your question since I have not been on the same treatments, but I did have problems with Revlimid treatments that way after the stem cell transplant. My white blood counts sometimes went below the normal range of 4.0 - 11.0, and I was taken off the Revlimid temporarily. So when that happened I waited to start treatments again until my WBC improved, and the dosage was lowered too. This didn't make any difference to my outcomes though, thankfully, since I did eventually reach a remission. So hopefully your treatments can be customized to suit you so that your blood remains healthy during the process.
Hope that is helpful, but others may have more specific information for you!
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Cyclophosphamide dose reduction in first cycle?
Hi Jessi,
I'm guessing you've already received your first Darzalex infusion. If so, I don't think it's all that surprising that your white blood cell counts are low. That's a very common side effect of Darzalex. In fact, low white cell counts occur often with many myeloma therapies, including the Velcade that you're also receiving as part of your treatment regimen.
So what you've experienced is not unusual, and your doctors will make adjustments now, and any other time the problem occurs, to balance keeping your white counts high enough with the goal of continuing to treat your myeloma as effectively as possible.
Cheers!
I'm guessing you've already received your first Darzalex infusion. If so, I don't think it's all that surprising that your white blood cell counts are low. That's a very common side effect of Darzalex. In fact, low white cell counts occur often with many myeloma therapies, including the Velcade that you're also receiving as part of your treatment regimen.
So what you've experienced is not unusual, and your doctors will make adjustments now, and any other time the problem occurs, to balance keeping your white counts high enough with the goal of continuing to treat your myeloma as effectively as possible.
Cheers!
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