About leukemia - CML

I am from India.I am recently diagonised with Chronic myeloid leukaemia.Initially my white blood cell count was around 6,00,000 before treatment.I was in ICU for 2 days and in general ward for 5 days .During discharge my white blood cell count was around 25,000.I am under medication of IMATINIB 400mg once a day .It has been 20 days after discharge .Now my white blood cell count is around 7500(Normal range 4000-11000).My only concern is whether the the usage of IMATINIB will cause neutropenia .I have my next OP discussion after 15 days .Kindly help me with suggestions

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Hello there @raja

Thank you for posting and I do hope you are recovering from what has been a challenging time with your new diagnosis of Chronic myeloid leukaemia?

Your white blood count is responding well to the Imatinib and this is very important. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like Imatinib work by stopping your cells from producing a protein called a tyrosine kinase, which is made by the abnormal BCR::ABL1 gene in the Philadelphia chromosome. This protein causes leukaemia cells to divide more quickly and live longer than healthy blood cells. So by blocking this protein it allows normal cells to be present and work for you. Here is some information from our webpages: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) | Blood Cancer UK

It is unlikely that you will become neutropenic as Imatinib does not kill normal cells. This is a good question to discuss with your Consultant but to reassure you, the plan would be to keep a close eye on your blood counts to ensure they are managing your Chronic myeloid leukaemia well.

I do hope this helps.
Best wishes
Gemma

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Hi @raja I am so glad that you have found us, a great big welcome.
I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with Chronic myeloid leukaemia.
@GemmaBloodCancerUK has given you a great reply.
It sounds as if a lot has happened to you in a short space of time, if you are anything like me you must feel in a state of shock with thoughts and feelings whizzing around.
I have found a great benefit of our forum is that it does not matter what our diagnosis is many of us share similar fears, thoughts, feelings and practicalities.
I was also diagnosed at this time of year and felt in a weird bubble over the holiday season with people celebrating around me.
Please do keep posting how you are and I look forward to hearing more about you.
Be very kind and look after yourself

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