I’m glad to report that my blood test results were good. The results show that 
I am still in remission. Thank God!! Beyond that, the rest of the blood test is relatively unimportant to me. However, the tests do show that I’m still quite anemic, even a little more than I usually am. However, my anemia is still in an acceptable range for taking the chemo drug, Gleevec. In other words, the anemia isn’t bad enough to warrant discontinuing the Gleevec. The benefits of taking Gleevec greatly outweigh the negative effects of the anemia and the risk for my leukemia going “acute.”
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that my White Blood Cell (WBC) count has come up some. For the first time in a long time my WBC count is in the lower range of normal. If you remember, my WBC count had gotten up to nearly 100,000 before beginning Gleevec, and then after beginning treatment my WBC count dropped down so low that I was almost removed from Gleevec. For the past couple of years, my WBC count has been very low but tolerable to Dr. Tan. In these situations, low WBC counts mean that my immunity is diminished. However, this latest blood test shows an improvement…at least that is what I hope it is. I don’t see Dr. Tan for six more months to know for sure. In the back of my mind I know that my White Blood Cell count is supposed to eventually go crazy indicating the onset of the “acute” phase. We’re hoping and praying that Gleevec will keep me in remission for years until something is developed that can take over when it is no longer effective. Anyway, I hope that my elevation in WBC count is an indication of a better immunity and not the beginning of something bad. With the cancer cell test coming back normal, I choose to believe that the modest increase in my WBC count is nothing but good news.
