Do I need to avoid visiting nursing homes in the first days after chemotherapy? (treatment, blood)

[germaine2626]

Hello,
I had my first chemotherapy infusion today (Monday) and my Chemo IV Port surgically implanted last Friday (uterine/ovarian/plus Stage IV cancer).

It just occurred to me that I am scheduled to tour several nursing homes/Community Based residential Living Facilities over the next few days. And, these are mostly the "bottom of the barrel", one or two star places (out of five stars) as they take Family Care/Medicaid.

[b]For my fellow CD-ers, Is this a problem? What type of precautions should I take? Wear a mask? Do not shake hands? What?[/B ] I will call the doctor tomorrow to ask, but I want to plan ahead.

Thanks.

[sfcambridge]

No, you will not be at higher risk of infection.

But I would be religious about cleaning your hands, do not eat there without washing your hands well, and avoid putting your purse down on any surfaces other than your lap. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your purse, and assume that anything/anyone you touch is not clean. Keep recleaning your hands as needed.

If your chemo will affect your white cell counts and cause them to drop (putting you at higher risk of infection), this effect usually takes several days or a week or two. And these drops tend to be less dramatic in the early days of chemo, but can become more pronounced over time. If your chemo is well known to cause these drops, your doctor may start you on a medicine to take intermittently to increase your white blood cell count.

Did your oncologist ask you to come back on a certain day to have a blood test, like Friday or next week? If so, that is probably when you would most likely have a drop in your counts.

So while infection will not be a major/increased risk right now, Nursing Homes can be notoriously dirty (although not always to the naked eye), so now is as good a time as any to start being meticulous with your habits.

I would also start keeping a hand sanitizer at your front door, so that when you/anyone enters your home, have them clean their hands. Everyone. Your husband. Your son. Visiting neighbor. The visiting therapists for your husband (especially them....). Everyone. No biggie.

I also kept sterilizing cloths from Costco in the house, and once or twice a week, would walk through and wipe every door knob, light switch and telephone, ending with anything you touch in the bathroom.

My mother never caught an infection.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.

[germaine2626]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

No, you will not be at higher risk of infection.

But I would be religious about cleaning your hands, do not eat there without washing your hands well, and avoid putting your purse down on any surfaces other than your lap. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your purse, and assume that anything/anyone you touch is not clean. Keep recleaning your hands as needed.

If your chemo will affect your white cell counts and cause them to drop (putting you at higher risk of infection), this effect usually takes several days or a week or two. And these drops tend to be less dramatic in the early days of chemo, but can become more pronounced over time. If your chemo is well known to cause these drops, your doctor may start you on a medicine to take intermittently to increase your white blood cell count.

Did your oncologist ask you to come back on a certain day to have a blood test, like Friday or next week? If so, that is probably when you would most likely have a drop in your counts.

So while infection will not be a major/increased risk right now, Nursing Homes can be notoriously dirty (although not always to the naked eye), so now is as good a time as any to start being meticulous with your habits.

I would also start keeping a hand sanitizer at your front door, so that when you/anyone enters your home, have them clean their hands. Everyone. Your husband. Your son. Visiting neighbor. The visiting therapists for your husband (especially them....). Everyone. No biggie.

I also kept sterilizing cloths from Costco in the house, and once or twice a week, would walk through and wipe every door knob, light switch and telephone, ending with anything you touch in the bathroom.

My mother never caught an infection.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.

Thank you very much for your tips.

[charolastra00]

These are all great tips. Ask your doctor about your bloodwork schedule and find out when your counts are expected to tank. You might be put on neupogen/neulasta to boost your red counts, which is helpful for avoiding infection. If you do get put on one of these drugs, take claritin to help avoid bone aches. That was something I picked up on a cancer forum - my onc never mentioned it!

[StillRoaming]

I am glad you are calling your doctor today. When I had chemo several years ago, my oncologist told me to be very cautious especially during the first week after the infusion. I had the Neulasta shot the day after the infusion to rebuild my white cell count with the intent to ward off infection.

I hope you're feeling OK after your first treatment yesterday.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by StillRoaming

I am glad you are calling your doctor today. When I had chemo several years ago, my oncologist told me to be very cautious especially during the first week after the infusion. I had the Neulasta shot the day after the infusion to rebuild my white cell count with the intent to ward off infection.

I hope you're feeling OK after your first treatment yesterday.

I hope by now, OP, you are done with your treatment and doing well.

I just want to add that anyone undergoing chemo should talk to their doctor about Neulasta after the very first dose of chemo.

I developed a severe infection, so was given neulasta after that, and had no more trouble. Especially important if you have an expander or any reconstruction following a mastectomy.