Okay, so you are probably wondering a couple things...what is an ANC and why is he getting daily shots and going up to the hospital for blood work everyday.
What is an ANC?
"The absolute neutrophil count (ANC) is a lab test measuring the number of neutrophils present in a blood sample, measured per microliter. This test provides important information about a patient's immune status, as neutrophils play a key role in the human immune system.
If the absolute neutrophil count is above 1,500, it is within normal range. Counts below 1,000 indicate mild neutropenia. The patient is at risk for infection, but the risk is relatively low as long as the patient exercises commonsense precautions. Counts of 500 or less are in the danger zone. The patient's immune system is highly compromised and the patient will not be able to fight off infection. For the patient's safety, contact with other people should be limited to individuals known to be healthy."
-http://m.wisegeek.com/what-is-absolute-neutrophil-count.htm
Beckham is getting daily shots and blood drawn because they want to start harvesting his stem cells this week. They need to collect quite a bit so they really need to get his white cells up high. The bone marrow team is closely watching him and once he gets to the levels they want he will be admitted for surgery to get a separate pic line put in for the cell harvest and then we will be at the hospital for a few days while they collect.
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