Morning, I’m still new here. I have ( not so) recently had some high platelet counts - 500 ( since September). My GP isn’t bothered, eventually I got a referral - but my NHS Heamatologist phone appointment is not till mid February. My symptoms were night sweats ( which stopped now for about 2 months), I have headaches, and I don’t sleep well -this could all be anxiety - I am a worrier.
I have decided to talk to a Heamatologist privately - to speed things up. He asked for more blood tests , and a chest and pelvic CT, he also said I can start taking aspirin. Is this normal procedure ( CT)? Is this part of staging ? I am worried about being exposed to unnecessary radiation. I had a chest x-ray in October, which was clear . I am a bit confused ,and shocked. I spent around £200 on a 20minute consultation, and not much was explained to me. Is the CT to find secondary causes of the high platelets , to rule out tumors, or is it to do with blood cancer ? Help!!
Hi @worriedM, gosh your anxiety really shows up.
I am so impressed that you realise that you get anxious and that you are a worrier.
The answer to your questions are very difficult because every person is special and unique with individual medical histories.
Your medical specialist will also want to be thorough and therefore want different tests to rule out conditions, just as much as making a diagnosis.
I find writing down all my anxieties, fears, questions etc and make sure you ask your medical professionals the questions and follow up questions.
If you would like to talk to someone the Blood Cancer UK support line details are above.
We are here to support each other and please let us know how you get on.
Take care and stay safe,
Thank you for understanding. This is uncharted territory for me. I am normally very healthy, never had issues in my life, hardly ever go to the GP. ( I am 45 so there wasn’t much need.) But since Covid and lockdown I became quite anxious, with children at school etc. So from September I had some symptoms, and as I am normally very healthy I felt that something wasn’t right ( night sweats included). I pushed for a blood test ,which showed the abnormal BC. Pushed for a check up - platelets still high - so this is how it started. I would feel much happier if I could talk to a doctor, but the GPs really weren’t worried at all ( ignoring me), and my consultation is not till mid February. So I haven’t really had the chance to talk to anyone. It’s an extremely strange situation. Makes me worry even more. So I decided to talk to someone privately -but that was less than satisfactory . Raised more questions , rather than giving me answers.
Hi @worriedM, even more questions for your list then.
Yes, I expect you have read on this forum that so many of us have had emotions on a roller coaster since March.
My emotions are not calming down either, sometimes I could burst into tears for no reason at all.
Don’t forget you have had all these health symptoms during Covid times which must be a double whammy for you.
We will all support each other through these times so keep posting.
Take care and stay safe.
Hi there,
We do hope you’re okay, it does sound like you have so much going on for you right now and we can really hear the emotional impact of all this is having on you.
How have you been for the last few days?
We would really encourage you to keep in reaching out for support, and also thought we’d share with you our “diagnostic tests” webpage: https://bloodcancer.org.uk/understanding-blood-cancer/tests-diagnosis/ this talks through the kind of tests people can expect when a doctor is working to find out what could be going on. It’s important to say though, having these tests does not necessarily mean a person has blood cancer, since such tests are also used to diagnose a range of different health conditions.
Hope this is helpful to you? But as said above, please do keep reaching out for support, our forum and Support Services Team are always here for you: https://bloodcancer.org.uk/support-for-you/talk-blood-cancer/
Take care and warmest wishes,
Su