Coronavirus and those with cancer

Heya Buttercup, 

Not everyone with cancer will be classed as vulnerable though I don't believe. From what I've read, cancer-wise, it's only those who are having treatment that affects their immune system or lungs.

So a number of folks aren't more vulnerable just because they have cancer. 

Lass

Xx

Thanks Lass for clarifying that. I didn't realise that was the case. So if I'm taking meds which affect my immune system, I'd be included, but otherwise not. 

Btw, where did u read it?

Hi buttercup01, I came across this link.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/one_cancer_voice_advice_on_coronavirus_for_people_with_cancer.pdf

Thanks very much KTatHome

Pazopanib, which a lot of the kidney cancer group are on , is a kinase inhibitor - one of the things mentioned in the article

Sue

I’m on immunotherapy which was mentioned also, but we will just keep on keeping on and supporting each other here, and the NHS will carry on doing their very best. 

Just to confuse matters more, I’ve not had treatment for over 4 years but am still in a higher risk group as blood cancers and their treatment tend to affect immune systems in the long term. It is all majorly confusing and I have the distinct impression it will get more confusing in the weeks to come. Hold on everyone!

Heya buttercup01

Others have already replied with some that would be affected, but as an example most thyroid cancer patients are at no more risk than someone without cancer. Treatment for thyroid cancer is whip it out and you're cured. Or whip it out and have RAI, but RAI doesn't normally damage the immune system. 

(It has damaged mine, but I've had MUCH more radiation than your normal person. Lol. I've still got a cough from a bug I caught at Christmas!)

Then the womb cancer ladies, some of them 'only' need a hysterectomy and no other treatment. So again, these ladies aren't at a higher risk of covid19.

I'm sure there are others too, but those are the two I've got personal experience of. The list KT has put up is good, and is what I'd seen on the NHS website and in other places too, but better laid out. Lol.

Lass

Xx

If your minus lymph nodes does this make you more vulnerable  as I had a few removed too , I’m happy to keep going ,just more worried I work in a healthcare setting c

Heya, 

This is what I posted in the thyroid group on that topic.... 

"

So, your lymph nodes are part of your immune system, in that they draw the bugs you catch into them then try and kill them off. This is why when you get certain bugs, your glands come up - those are your lymph nodes.

Now, when someone has a neck dissection, some of their lymph nodes are removed. The amount varies from person to person, so some might have a few while others might have a lot. The people who have had a higher number of lymph nodes removed, often find that they catch more colds and sore throats, because without the lymph nodes there, that area is more vulnerable. 

Hoeever, a neck dissection hasn't affected the white blood cells, and everything else in the immune system. So while you might catch more colds because your first line of defense has gone, your body will still kill it off as easily as it otherwise would have - just once it knows its there.

Hence the yes and no. 

Now, this next bit is just a guess, so it might be right, it might be wrong. But it's what I would assume from the above facts. 

If you come in contact with CV19, it looks like you get it. I'm not reading of anyone not getting it, the way that some people don't get some colds they come in contact with. So the lack of lymph nodes doesn't matter, we're all on an even keel there. So it'll be the rest of your immune system that will be attacking it to get rid of it, should you get it, and that is completely unaffected by a thyroidectomy or neck dissection.

Hope that helps, "

Lass

Xx