What causes white blood cells to lower?
Many kinds of chemotherapy, some radiation therapy, and some cancers can lower your white blood cells (WBC). If your WBC drop, you may not get sick. Sometimes it lowers and then returns to a normal level without ever developing an infection. It is important to know that when your white blood cells drop, you need to protect yourself because there is a greater risk of developing an infection. What are the risks of having low white blood cells? When your WBC are low, you are not able to fight infections as well. Infections can make you very sick and may cause you to get a smaller dose of chemotherapy or even delay your next treatment. What can I do to help protect myself from infections? If you feel hot, have chills or sweats, take your temperature by mouth. If your temperature is at 38°C (100.4°F), call the Telephone Triage Nurse (TTN) or your family doctor right away. See “Who do I call for help” in this pamphlet for more information. The following tips can help you protect yourself aga
