Question 1

ref. range 4.0-11.0. my white blood cell count was 11.8. how likely is leukemia? i had a sinus infection and abd rash at the time.

Accepted Answer

Not likely: A WBC count of 11.8, in the presence of infection is no reason to worry about leukemia. If your infection does not clear up in a week or so, or if you have abnormal bleeding, or a new infection, then please consult your doctor.

Question 2

does having a high white blood cell count indicate leukemia?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily: White blood counts can be elevated as a result of an infection or inflammatory process.  When this happens it is called a leukemoid reaction and is a normal physiologic response.

Question 3

does leukemia always cause an elevated white blood cell count?

Accepted Answer

No, not always!: Acute leukemia can have high counts, near normal counts or even low white counts because the disease actually begins and resides in the bone marrow. What you see in the peripheral blood is only the consequences of abnormal bone marrow function which is highly variable from one person tot he other.

Question 4

how high would my white blood cell count have to be to be leukemia?

Accepted Answer

Not high at all: Leukemia is a word that means "white blood".  Originally leukemia was recognized when the white blood count was very high.  However, as we develop a better understanding, we know that leukemia can be associated with a very low, normal, or high white blood cell count.  What is important is the process going on in the bone marrow.

Question 5

how severe would my white blood cell count have to be for me to have leukemia?

Accepted Answer

No answer here: Leukemia patients can have low, normal and high wbc. Must have the clinical context, the other CBC numbers and especially the WBC differential.

Question 6

white blood cell count 16.95 at week 39 preg appt. doc casually mentioned leukemia. any other ideas? second child, first there was no elevated levels

Accepted Answer

Confusing data: In most circles a white blood count of 16.95 would mean 16,950 cells per microliter with a expected range of 4500-10,000.Pregnancy is known to cause an elevation of the WBC level. If the count were above 100,000 I would consider that a possibility &amp; rarely it could be at a lower level. Why the diagnosis was even brought up in that setting is confusing. I suspect the doc has some explaining to do.

Question 7

if you have a cbc with differential and the only thing abnormal is the high white blood cell count can you dismiss luekemia for the most part?

Accepted Answer

Leukemia & High WBCs: An elevated white cell count can indicate an infection as well as leukemia. Other tests can be run to arrive at the correct diagnosis; i would follow up with your physician soon.

Question 8

my 13 yr old daughter got a white blood cell count of 3.6 come in yesterday and her uncle passed away at 18 with luekemia should we go do more tests n?

Accepted Answer

Rare rarely happens: There to my knowledge no family linkage for leukemia and a lowish white count as listed is often due to other common events ( although you didn't give much to  go on).I think you need to get through this numbing period whatever way you can.Instead of more tests, a heartfelt discussion of your concern with the doc that ordered the test may be a better approach.If needed it would get done.

Question 9

my white blood cell count was 6.25... is this normal or low? is it okay to take prednisone for poison ivy with this wbc count?

Accepted Answer

You're fine: Normal WBC. I trust lymphocyte and neutrophil counts were fine also. Take the prenisone for the poison ivy only if it's so bad you can't sleep otherwise. We're glad to help.

Question 10

how to increase the red blood cell count in a acute  leukemia  patient?

Accepted Answer

Difficult: In this case the cancer and ongoing chemotherapy makes it difficult to maintain the red blood cell count. A nutritious diet containing red meats, cooked green vegetables and take multivitamins if ok with your doctors. Some patients may benefit from oral iron tabs if their levels are low. Red blood cell transfusions are used for severe anemia and growth factors (erythropoetin) are not used.

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Doctor answers about:

Leukemia white blood cell count range

A member asked:

Ref. range 4.0-11.0. my white blood cell count was 11.8. how likely is leukemia? i had a sinus infection and abd rash at the time.

A member asked:

Does having a high white blood cell count indicate leukemia?

A member asked:

Does leukemia always cause an elevated white blood cell count?

A member asked:

How high would my white blood cell count have to be to be leukemia?

A member asked:

How severe would my white blood cell count have to be for me to have leukemia?

A member asked:

White blood cell count 16.95 at week 39 preg appt. doc casually mentioned leukemia. any other ideas? second child, first there was no elevated levels

A member asked:

If you have a cbc with differential and the only thing abnormal is the high white blood cell count can you dismiss luekemia for the most part?

A member asked:

My 13 yr old daughter got a white blood cell count of 3.6 come in yesterday and her uncle passed away at 18 with luekemia should we go do more tests n?

A member asked:

My white blood cell count was 6.25... is this normal or low? is it okay to take prednisone for poison ivy with this wbc count?

A member asked:

How to increase the red blood cell count in a acute leukemia patient?

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