Am I right in thinking you can be around chemo patients in the first trimester?

[Sodo]

My friend is experiencing this but having a day on a drip followed by two weeks of tablets. She is now within the two weeks of tablets. She’s been told to stay away from children, not sure why, but nothing about pregnant ladies. I would like to go round to her house but saw another thread with someone thinking it was a risk. I can’t see how it could be dangerous in any way. Surely you could be on a bus, or in a shopping centre next to someone undergoing treatment and just not know about it. It’s fine, isn’t it?

I've never heard of being told to stay away from children, how would parents with cancer do that? Is it because of increased risk of picking up an infection or virus from a child I'm guessing

Children have immature immune systems so catch every bug going. Your friend has a compromised immune system due to the chemo, so she is vulnerable to the bugs the children may be carrying. Well pregnant women fall into the same category as other well adults.

Could be, rather than a risk to the child?

Isn't it radiation therapy that would be more of an issue?

The stay away from children is to reduce the patients risk of catching an illness from a child, they’re little germ factories.

It is about risk to the person undergoing chemo, rather than the person they are interacting with.

It's radiation which is a small risk to others. Not chemo. She's been told to stay away from kids where possible because they spread germs the most I assume

Hope your friend is doing OK x

There is a risk to others around the chemo patient, hence we are told to use separate towels, and double flush the toilets, etc, we are full of extreme toxins, and they don't stay inside

Some chemo treatments can be excreted through your skin. When my sister had chemo, she was told to be careful around her DS afterwards, and to wear gloves for the first day or so.

I don’t know if it’s the same type of chemo but I did capox treatment which was an infusion and 2 weeks of tablets. The one and only time I was told to stay away from small children and pregnant women was for a few hours after I’d had a PET scan, as the drip they use makes you radioactive. You do need to be a bit careful with any bodily emissions so you are advised to flush the loo twice with the lid closed and if you happen to vomit wear gloves when cleaning up.

You should ask her if she's had radiation therapy and chemo or just chemo. There are definitely guidelines for people who've had radiotherapy to stay away especially from children and pregnant women.

Isn't it more likely that you may be a risk to her?

It's also worth bearing in mind that in the first trimester all the major organs are being formed so this is the most sensitive time of the pregnancy.
There is some protection from the fact that the embryo or foetus is within your pelvis and so there is more of your body between it and the outside world. But it's important to know that the early stages of pregnancy are the most sensitive and when the most can go wrong, so don't dismiss danger just because it's early pregnancy.

Depending on what type she's taking it could be that her immune system gets wiped out so stay away from children to avoid catching anything. I had 2 weeks every cycle where I basically had to stay at home and if my temperature spiked above a certain degree I had to go to hospital to be checked out.

The only time I was told to stay away from pregnant women was after a PET scan.

Yup, this is a factor. There are studies being done on the presence of cytotoxic drugs throughout chemo wards and also on the effects of nurses who are exposed to them. I know of nurses who feel their fertility has been affected. And some studies on surfaces, ward equipment and ward air have shown cytotoxic compounds are present. It's an ongoing research area.

https://www.britishjournalofnursing.com/content/meeting-report/taking-steps-to-protect-cancer-nurses-from-exposure-to-hazardous-drugs/ It talks about cancer but also mentions risk of spontaneous abortion.