::General Information::
Information about terms relating to his cancer treatment.
PCMC: Short for Primary Children's Medcial Center
Port-A-Cath: Implanted central line which allows easy access to his bloodstream; is under his skin in the upper, left quadrant of his chest; we put Emla cream over the area where the nurse will poke the needle, so his skin is numb before the needle poke; accessing the port is the process of puncturing the skin.
Emla cream: Lotion-like cream used to numb skin before accessing the Port or before a PEG shot
Counts: Refers to his blood counts--the number and type of cells in the body; a CBC (Complete Blood Count) is done to determine counts. Blood counts monitor his health and there are many parameters of blood counts that are watched by his oncology team. Chemotherapy kills the bad cancer cells in the body as well as the good blood cells. Therefore, the doctors have to know when his good cells are low in order to know if he needs a blood or platelet transfusion or if we need to take extra precautions with his immune system.
::These are the main blood cells the doctors watch::
1.) White Blood Cells (WBC): Infection fighting cells; when the number of WBC are decreased, he will have less ability to fight infection.
2.) Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC): Is a reflection of his overall ability to fight infection. It is calculated using the WBC and the percentage of neutrophils in his body. The ANC is what the doctors look at to determine if he is immunocompromised or not.
**When he is immunocompromised, he stays home from school, church, and away from crowded places; basically, he is homebound.
3.) Hematocrit (HCT): Is one measure of red blood cell quantity. Is measured as the percentage of blood volume made up of red blood cells.
**When HCT is below normal, he will need a blood transfusion.**
PCMC transfuses when HCT is 25 or below.
4.) Platelets (PLTS): Are important in the formation of blood clots. When they are low, he could have increased bruising or bleeding.
**When PTLS are low, he will need a platelet transufusion.
PCMC transfuses when PLTS are 30 or below.
::Normal Blood Count Values::
WBC (White Blood Cells) - 4.8 - 10
HCT (Hematocrit)- 32 - 42
PLTS (Platelets)- greater than 150
ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Counts)- 3,000 to 6,000 -- ANC below 500 is felt to place him at greatest risk for infection.
