My grandfather has a low blood count...Could he have Cancer?

The doctor didn't say if it was white or red blood cells he said it was lower than the average for a person his age (he's 77 the normal count is 13.5 and his is 11.). The doctor was a blood doctor that worked with Cancer patients...Could he have cancer? The doctor skipped around the subject alot and ask lots of questions about cancer like smoking and stuff...What could this mean? While I was in the waiting room I noticed lots of people that were hairless and wore wigs...is this a sign? They took more blood today and he's going back in 2 wks for results...should I brace myself for anything?
Answer:
From the numbers you gave -11 with normal being 13.5 - this sounds like the value is for your grandather's hemoglobin level and that he is somewhat anemic. There are many, many causes of anemia (low number of red blood cells) .
Usually the hemoglobin is determined as part of a CBC (complete blood count). From additional information that is available in the CBC (things like red blood cell size, concentration of hemoglobin in the red blood cells, white blood cell count, platelet count, etc) the doctor can make a preliminary determination of where to search further to find the cause of the anemia.
Anemia can be caused by cancer, but there are many other causes as well. It sounds like the doctor was gathering information as he would for any new patient.
If he is a blood specialist (hematologist) certainly many people in his waiting room do have cancer, but many of them are there for noncancer problems as well.
Certainly be prepared in case the news is bad, but you can be legitimately hopeful that it is something less serious.

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yeah. i dont know if rbc's matter but diffinately be concerned about white blood cell count.

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Well, first of all everybody has cancer. The thing that prevents it from spreading are our white cells. If a person gets reallllllllyyyy sick , the count of the white cells go down and cause the cancer to spread. Now, whether your grandfather has cancer or not you won't know until he gets the test results back! It really suck thought that the doctor didn't give you enough information about that specific disease! But then again they never want to give too much information if they themselves are not sure! I'm sorry that you have to go throught all that tension! Try to relax until the test results come back. I hope they will be negative! Good Luck!

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could have anemia

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Sounds like the doc is talking about HGB - Hemoglobin. It's a sign of anemia. The doctor needs to find out what is causing it and then it can be treated. Sounds like he's doing this since he took more blood.

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The numbers you gave are for red blood count and 11 is a bit low but not seriously low. In the hospital we do not give transfusions unless the hemoglobin is under 10 sometimes lower. There are so many causes of low hgb. I cant begin to list them all cancer is way down on that list. At 77 Id say this may be normal for him alot of elderly people have lower counts than healthy young people.

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of course i don't much about medical stuff... but i just wanted to wish your grandfather to get well soon... it could be many things other than cancer in his age... don't worry for now, and just wait for the results... i hope it'll be good news... love u...!

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In my experience there are many reasons for anemia. I have been anemic most of my life. Mine is an iron deficiency type of anemia which is not serious except that I feel really tired a lot. For some reason my body does not absorb the iron it should. Another reason is that I don't eat red meat very often. With the extra blood drawn the doctor is probably checking to see if it is an iron deficiency which is quite common. As people get older their diets change and the foods that are generally high in iron are hard to chew. It could also be that he may have some ulcers or some problems with his colon. If the iron binding capacity comes back normal he may recommend he have a colonoscopy. And yes it could be cancer. Usually other results on the blood count other than just the Hemoglobin would be off as well though (white blood count could be high or low) Plateletts would most likely be low. It sounds like he is seeing the appropriate doctor though who will get to the bottom of the reason for his anemia. I hope it all works out well for you and your grandfather.

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It's always best to be prepared for the worst, but you should hope for the best. Cancer is one of the if not the most common disease afflicting man right now. It's ravaged my family on both my moms and dads sides. And if he does have cancer hopefully the stuff hasn't spread and can be treated. I wouldn't make too much out of people wearing wigs and hairless...that's common in the elderly, but chemo will also make hair fall out. And I'm 41 and my doctor always asks me if I smoke or drink.that's just part of the patient file. I'm glad that you care about your grandfather and worry about him..with that kind of love...that'll go along way if he does have cancer. Cancer patients need a support system in place to help them w/recovery! But like I said until we know for sure let's hope/pray for the best and if he does have cancer you'll be there for him..I guarantee your love will do just as much for him as any drug could ever do. I wish you both the best! G=ME

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