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Appointment and blood tests

Hello I am due to have my blood tests in June first for molecular testing then one for liver function 3 weeks later.

I am then due my appointment with my consultant 7th July.

What happens now with this virus about.

Hi ,

You dont say at what stage you are at in your treatment nor which country you are from;if you are not yet in MMR or your PCR is greater than 0.1 you may be at greater risk.

My first observation is that if your consultant has deemed it absolutely necessary to have bloods taken then you need to go through with this;it would also make good sense though to have one set of bloods as opposed to making two trips for bloods.

If the clinic/hospital is one that is treating Covid patients I would wear the best possible mask say of N95 standard/FFP3 ,wear gloves and also goggles and go for your bloods first thing in the day when there would have been less traffic in your blood clinic.I use copper infused gloves as the virus apparently settles on copper for only a short period of time.

No doubt your appointment will not be a face to face situation but over the telephone?

Regards

John

 

Hello, I am in UK and in complete response 0.003 . I have on imatib for 4 years,nilotinib for a year before that but it raised my bilorubin levels too high.

Keith

Hi I am on Nilotinib and had bloods taken for cbc, liver function and PCR last Monday. In October was nigh on MMR @0.118% at my 18month. Hopefully should be MMR by now. Fingers crossed. I was told my results will be over the phone rather than going in to see the consultant as per normal.

When I had bloods it was the quickest and easiest process so far. I wore a mask and gloves to protect myself and the nurse had PPE.

Hope that helps.

Alex

Hello I am still worried about going to hospital to have my blood sample taken it is within the hospital grounds.

My BCR ABL is 0.004% and WBC 6.8.

I have not been out of the house since the lockdown and have 7 weeks still to go at the moment.

Keith

I am sure your clinic will be taking the necessary precautions when taking bloods. Your white cell count is in normal range and you have a DMR (Deep Molecular Response). If you are very worried about contracting COVID-19 because you feel your risk of developing serious complications (i.e pneumonia) then you should talk with your clinician about how your blood tests can be done outside the clinic i.e in your home.

If you are still not confident then your clinician may suggest that you should delay your next clinic appt. for a few more months, at least until the spread of the virus takes a downward trend. Your BCR-ABL levels are minimal so you could delay your PCR test.

Sandy

Hello and thank you Sandy for putting my mind at ease.

I will get my bloods both my samples at once,even though the molecular response will not be available to my consultant.

I still have a few weeks yet and I am still on 12 week lockdown and yes I did get my letter from NHS.

So will get bloods taken in Early July.

Keith

I'm 20 months into TFR. Due to have bloods taken and see consultant Wednesday 13th. Text message yesterday to say it will be a telephone consult and not to come to hospital. Fine with the phone consult - need to know how/when they are going to do blood tests. Experience shows that PCR samples taken anywhere other than the haematology clinic have a 50:50 chance of not giving a result - even those taken by the hospital general phlebotomy service 40 yards down the corridor. Time for a phone call I think.

Hello , I have just been watching the corona virus update on TV and it was said when the lockdown is eased that we the 1.8 million most vulnurable must stay in even longer to be protected.

What do they expect us to do stay in forever, I don't think so. I have read that we with CML are not that much in danger is that true.

Keith