I took a vaccine immunity antibody test just prior to the easing of restrictions in July with monitormyhealth.org.uk. An NHS for profit company! using an NHS lab. Cheaper than out and out private company. Cost was £37 now £39. Quick turnaround and result no antibodies detected <O.4 U/ml. Lack of antibodies I did suspect and appears to be mainly due to RChop chemotherapy specifically the drug Rituximab. Now in the battle to get the 3rd Primary vaccine dose.
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Really pleased for you @Maggi183 that is a really good result you’ll soon be on your way to undetectable. Sadly I have slipped out of remission which I think is due to time off TKIs for another illness/ op and I want to plough on with Imatinib and get back into remission though I don’t suppose I’ll get to your level however luckily all the mutation tests came back negative. I cannot have Nilotinib so my Haematologist wants me on 100 Dasatinib but has agreed to wait until next pcr test to see if I’m back in remission. Imatinib may not be as effective as the newest TKI s but it certainly has less dramatic side effects and at my age quality of life has a certain premium still if It does not work I guess I’ll be joining you on Dasatinib. I hope the scan goes well or they deal with the effusions if any. quickly.
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Hi JAS
Thanks for the information. Your result was much better than that reported by another contributor also on hydroxycarbamide for ET.
Obviously there could be many explanations including dose level and length of time on the drug.
But it just shows how unpredictable everything is. I await a dose of antibodies, but they may only be administered by infusion in hospital.
I am trying to register with MonitorMyHealth but their website is having a bad day. I tried ten times to register for an antibody test.
Jumbo4
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hi @jumbo4 please do let us know how you get on with MonitorMyHealth and an antibody test.
Is anyone else thinking of getting or has had an antibody test out there?
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Hi. I did and antibody test with Monitor My Health at the end of August. I was delighted when it came back positive. Not sure how my actual result compares with others though - mine was 191 u/mL
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Hi @Grannajan, yes, I think there is a lot of confusion about what the results actually mean.
Welcome to our forum I hope that you will find it informative and supportive.
There is also a lot of information on the Blood Cancer UK website.
I look forward to hearing more about you.
Look after yourself
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Erica
I have just had my antibody report four weeks after my third vaccinatiion, all with Pfizer. It came out better than I had dared hope at >2500. I suspect the third jab made a lot of difference. My lymphocytes are low so I suspect that my T cells may also be below par so this is a great relief, though I realise it is no cast iron guarantee of anything.
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That’s great news @jumbo4!
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I was asked by my consultant to participate to which I agreed. Registering is easy. Next step said problem processing my application; then to ring 119 (Test and Trace). Then I hit the brick wall!!
I was told I didn’t work for the NHS and so I don’t qualify!!!
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Hi @jumbo4 thanks so much for letting us know, I am impressed. Look after yourself.
Hi @Venus welcome to our forum and it sounds frustrating hitting that brick wall, is it worth going back to your consultant???
Please let us know how you get on and look after yourself, good luck.
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Hi I have done the finger prick test for the survey. The result came back I had antibodies either through having COVID, which I haven’t, or through vaccine. Didn’t say percentage or anything but was quite pleased antibodies showed up 6 months after 2nd vaccine. I’ve now had my third on watch and wait for Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Due hospital next week for check up re bloods 
nothing has changed.
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I phoned the hospital and I’m still waiting for a reply. The big problem is once you’ve used your identifying number supplied you cannot apply again. Thus stuck in a loop with no way forward.
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I took part in the National Cancer Covid study which checks for antibodies and just had my result from NHS. “No antibodies detected” and suggested I contact 119 if I wish to discuss. Rather doubtful whether 119 will be able to be helpful though.
I had my third primary Covid vaccination on 29 September. Took and submitted the antibody test on 14 October 16 days after the vaccination. Quite depressing after 3 Pfizer jabs still no antibodies. I suppose 16 days might be to soon so I could do a paid for test with say a 4 or 5 weeks gap. It appears from other correspondence on forums to be the drug Rituximab in chemotherapy affecting the memory B cells but I consider all patients who had this drug in the last year or so should have been made aware of its effect on immunisations ( I finished my chemotherapy course early December).
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Please let us know if you do get a reply @Venus , being stuck in a loop is not good.
Look after yourself.
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Hi Erica had results from blood test my wbc is 18 gone up a little but everything else platelets etc okay. Consultant not worried until it starts getting to 100?
Hope you are well.
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That’s good news @Shelz thanks for letting us know.
Take lots of special care of yourself and please keep posting.
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My first covid vaccine produced no antibodies at all. After my second I had what was describes as very weak antibodies. On 25th September I had my third vaccine. After seeing a post on the blood cancer forum about free testing j applied as it cost me £50 a time for the previous tests. My results came back yesterday saying antibodies cemented but it doesn’t say how many I have. The question now is do I pay for another private test which will give more detailed results or just trust I have enough ?
All being well we are going on a 40 night cruise to the Carribean in February. I would like to have a 4th vaccine before I go but it will only have been 5 months from my third.
I wonder if I will be able to have one. It seems nothing has been decided on 4th vaccines yet.
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Hi @ilivesunshine I think your answers are that you would probably have to pay for a more specific Covid test unless your consultant or GP can suggest something.
At this point do you need to know more specifics?
Even if you do have a certain number of antibodies I don’t think you will know how effective they are.
As for your wonderful Caribbean Cruise in February personally I think so much can happen between now and then and I think I have heard whispers about 5 nths instead of 6 mths as the interval.
Others might be a lot more help that me.
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Hello @ilivesunshine hope you don’t mind I just moved your query into this thread as it’s related. A really good question. You might find this article helpful to read through - What do covid antibody test results mean for people with blood cancer? | Blood Cancer UK This article discusses what we know so far about what antibody tests mean and explains
You might also be wondering why it’s not possible to put a number on the quantity of antibodies you need to be “protected” from the coronavirus . This is because there are two things at play: quantity of antibodies produced and the quality of them. It’s possible that someone might produce a higher number of antibodies that are low in quality and unable to fight infection. It’s also possible that someone might produce a lower number of antibodies that are high in quality which will be able to destroy the coronavirus. We just don’t know yet, and this will take time to understand.
To start to understand this, researchers can do something called a “neutralisation assay” which, in simple terms, involves taking someone’s antibodies, putting them in a dish with some coronavirus and looking to see if the antibodies are able to stop the virus from multiplying. This would suggest that the antibodies are functioning well. These aren’t tests you can pay to have, but researchers will be studying this, and we expect to understand more about this over the coming weeks and months.’
This might be something you’d be eligible to take part in if you wanted to - National COVID Cancer Survey – Antibody testing to safeguard, protect and monitor individuals with cancer
We are awaiting more information from the JCVI about a potential roll out of a further booster vaccine for immunosuppressed people and how long they might recommend to wait between doses. We will keep the blood cancer community updated.
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