Hi there, welcome to the forum. You do have to be careful but you can't isolate yourself completely , if people are unwell and want to visit just say no. This is now about how you are feeling, you have to be firm. You may not feel like going out anyway, so you really end up keeping away from others. Hopefully all goes well for you in your treatment. Carol
As you may already know chemo is most of the time administered in cycles, with some rest between them. A few days after a cycle white cells and platelets counts go down, in my experience white cells may even go below 5% of what would be considered the lowest limit of 'normal'. So these days you would be susceptible to infections and you should be carefull with food, overall hygiene and specially oral hygiene. If you do get any infection your next chemo cycle will be delayed, which may affect your threatment effectiveness.
What you could get from other people is a cold or the flu, they could be difficult to avoid anyway unless you avoid absolutely anyone, which is impossible, so there's not a lot to gain from isolating yourself. I would focus more in other possible sources of infection like certain foods (like fruit with unwashed skin), and oral hygiene.
Welcome to cancer chat. The answer is, as it so often is, "it depends".
When I was on chemo the care team monitored my white blood cell count quite closely as this gives a good indication of how your immune system is coping with the chemo. Their general advice was to be sensible, avoid visiting people who are ill with infectious diseases.
Other patients were more specific with warnings about avoiding the germ factories also known as snotty kids!
Good luck with your chemo - remember to take something to read as I found it involved a lot of sitting around waiting.
Personally, if you were my husband, I'd be erring on the side of caution, especially as its not forever and an infection could make quite a difference. The chemo nurse said that small things can become big things on chemo.
We avoid anywhere busy [and at this time of year, that covers quite a lot of places] So we might have friends over or go to theirs if its a small select group and I've checked that they're not germy. And we definitely dont go to any carveries or all day Chinese buffets, or eat sushi, soft unpasteurised cheeses etc.
I hope your treatment goes well and that you have a peaceful and happy Christmas..
You've had all the answers really, but I guess more confirmation can't do any harm.
As some have pointed out your risk is higher at different times in your chemo cycle and your medical team will let you know when that time is. You may be, as I was, given antibiotics automatically to take during your chemo cycle. I had to start mine on day 5 of each cycle. Still, naturally you don't want to risk catching anything in the first place.
I did mix with people but was just very, very careful. I avoided crowded places completely (bars etc.) and public transport. I also avoided being in small, confined spaces with strangers so avoided lifts etc. That way I limited the chance of people coughing and sneezing on me when I had no chance to get away.
A lot of people know that going through chemo means being immunocompromised, so you might find friends and family automatically stay away if they even just feel like they have a bug coming on, but it can't do any harm to remind people. It is possible you could catch something and go on to be fine, but it would still potentially delay your chemo treatment and you probably don't want that so being vigilant is really good.
One of the benefits of it being winter is that if you do have to pop to your local shop or whatever you can have a scarf wrapped around your nose and mouth to help stop bugs getting to you.
Another thing to consider is having your own towels for hand drying so as to avoid any cross-contamination (just because nicks and dry skin on our hands can be an easy way for infection to get in). I got myself a load of white face cloths to use for hand drying.
Have you had your flu vaccination? If not then that's something to consider. It's also a good idea for those you live with to have it to help protect you, especially as it isn't as effective when you are going through chemo.
Still, in reality although there is a risk of catching bugs off other people that isn't actually the main concern. You biggest risk is the bacteria that naturally live in your mouth and on your skin. That is why they stress to you about moisturising you skin to avoid cracks, and taking great care over your dental hygiene, any ulcers etc. are a great way for your mouth bacteria to get into your system. If you do need any dental work done then it is a very good idea to get it done before starting chemo. Fruit and salad are another thing to be careful with, if you can't be sure they are properly washed then avoid them.
Sorry you're starting chemo so close to Christmas, I hope you have a good while with no symptoms so you get to enjoy Christmas dinner.
Thanks for your reply Caz07, it’s difficult to know what’s best this time of year I feel like I may be offending people, but basically I’m just being honest .
