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treating itp when you have cancer

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12 years 1 month ago #35608 by freckles
treating itp when you have cancer was created by freckles
i was wondering if anybody is familiar with treating itp if you also have cancer. long story short, my mom's friend was diagnosed with itp on a routine blood test. she had breast cancer about two years ago and is currently in remission. the thing that i'm confused about is that her oncologist said that, with a count of 15, don't worry about it and only address it if she ever goes in for surgery. i thought under 20 was the cutoff point for treatment.
i'm wondering if because she had cancer, immunosupressants like pred is contraindicated.


freckles
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12 years 1 month ago #35609 by Ann
Replied by Ann on topic treating itp when you have cancer
There is no hard and fast cut off point. Ten was mine and yet once I came in at 9 and she still said let's wait a bit because I had no bleeding. Any immunosuppressant is not a good idea with cancer around as the immune system is needed to kill off any stray cancer cells.
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12 years 1 month ago #35617 by juliannesmom
Replied by juliannesmom on topic treating itp when you have cancer
As long as she wasn't bleeding and was tolerating the low count, ten was the cutoff for my teen, who now has normal counts. She has tolerated counts in the 13-15 level just fine, but was restricted from sports.
Norma
  • Sandi
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  • Sandi Forum Moderator Diagnosed in 1998, currently in remission. Diagnosed with Lupus in 2006. Last Count - 344k - 6-9-18
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12 years 1 month ago #35621 by Sandi
Replied by Sandi on topic treating itp when you have cancer
Hey there, Freckles! I sort of made my own cut-off point, which was 10k. Many doctors go by symptoms instead of counts.

Ann is right about immunosuppressants and cancer cells, but many patients who have cancer are also on steroids during chemo. I suppose if your friend had to treat, they would weigh the pros and cons and do what was best for her situation. Sometimes conflicting health issues come up and you have to juggle them.
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