DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2010 and remained in stage 2 with no effects until 2022. In the interim, he was also diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and is taking Xarelto.

When the CLL came back in 2022, he was successfully treated with 10 infusions of rituximab. Due to a recent low platelet trend, he recently received another three rounds of rituximab. His platelets are now fluctuating between 110,000 and 66,000, which I find concerning, but the oncologist doesn’t seem to agree.

Do the blood thinners have anything to do with the low platelet count? The cardiologist recently reduced the Xarelto dosage from 80 mg to 40 mg. My husband was also recently hospitalized for sepsis.

This is complicated, and the doctors don’t appear to be co

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