Lab Results

Well, our pediatrician called yesterday with the lab results and every test came back normal. This means her iron is fine and we can stop giving her iron supplements. That is the good news. The bad news is that there is some other reason for her anemia and low white blood cell count. It indicates a problem with her bone marrow functioning. The dr contacted a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and based on what he sees, he believes she has chronic benign neutropenia. It just means long lasting, non-cancerous, low white blood cells. Then there is still the issue of low hemoglobin (red blood cells) resulting in the anemia. He said her levels are not as bad as many patients and he feels comfortable ruling out cancer since she has no other symptoms and is able to fight illnesses. However, the anemia combined with low white blood cells is an indicator of childhood leukemia and we have to monitor her white blood cells closely. The next time (and everytime) she is sick with any sort of infection, she will have to have a CBC (blood test) done to check that her white blood cells are reacting. We believe they are as she has never had a long infection she couldn't shake on her own. People with this disorder are much more susceptible to infections. We are calling the hematologist today to make an appointment for a consultation to have some questions answered. We just worry about long term effects, and if this puts her at higher risk for leukemia or other cancers. We also want to rule out leukemia now. He said we could wait until she was 2 to check, again since she has no symptoms, but we need more info before waiting any longer. I'll update when we talk to him at Texas Oncology.