Hello

Hi , sorry to hear about your husband, I am dropping in past from our NHL group just to give you a welcome,

Over my many years of treatment and before ‘COVID’ was a thing my family and I had to keep me safe....... but not get paranoid about it.

Avoiding Infections is important so control who comes near the house, control well meaning people with ‘bugs’ coming near him, control where his goes..... no crowds..... and he is basically on a pregnant diet.

But most of this is all happening just now due to COVID. 

Hi Mike, thank you for replying - I think the not getting paranoid is something I’ll need to work on. It’s all been very quick, so he hasn’t had time to be shielding due to covid, but I’m thinking that I need to basically carry on as if he was shielding once he comes home, regardless of what the covid situation is. I know people will want to see him, I’m thinking other than our adult kids, see everyone else outside?

I hadn’t even thought about diet, but my daughter who has a 3 month old said exactly that, he’ll need to act as if he’s pregnant!

I was basically shielding for 5 years before it became a thing.

Clever daughter..... this is info i was given by my Heamatology Unit dietitian.

Food when on Chemo

Part of the way chemotherapy works is it kills fast growing cells. This includes not only the cancer cells, but your white blood cells (neutrophils) that fight infections. There is some debate about whether patients need to change their diet to prevent infections when having chemo. Some doctors and dieticians believe it’s very important to follow strict dietary guidelines. Others give less strict advice. This is because we don’t have evidence behind this and we are using professional opinion. This can be confusing. Food safety and hygiene are the most important.

Some tips for you:

Shop smart – Check foods are in date.

Make sure you get the chilled and frozen foods home quickly.

Prepare and clean up - Clean hands and the kitchen.

Use separate chopping boards for raw and ready to eat foods.

Prevent cross-contamination - Separate raw meats, chicken, seafood from ready to eat foods in the fridge.

Cook food properly, piping hot throughout.

Eat out in clean places and make sure your food is hot.

Don't have carry out food as you can not control it

Eat

Meat, chicken and fish cooked through

Pasteurised milk

Cooked eggs with a firm yolk

Washed fresh or cooked fruit and vegetables

Hard cheese or soft cheese made from pasteurised milk

Vacuum-packs meat, ham.

Re-heat cold rice till it is steaming all the way through.

Some foods have a higher risk of becoming tainted with bacteria. Here are some foods you might want to avoid.

Avoid

Raw or undercooked meat, chicken, fish and no shellfish

Unpasteurised or raw milk

Raw or undercooked eggs

Unwashed fresh fruit and vegetables

Soft cheeses made from unpasteurised milk

Uncovered deli meats

Cold rice

To limit your risk of infection from food:

• Cooking food (eggs/meat/fish) thoroughly and having good hand hygiene.
• Avoid cross-contamination between cooked and raw foods
• Wash fruit and vegetables well
• Avoid unpasteurised cheeses and milk
• Choose pasteurised milk, yoghurts and cheese
• Ensure that food is in date
• If having cooked/cured meat, opt to vacuum packed and not from the deli counter.

Thank you - that’s all really helpful info, I’ll definitely be looking over it again nearer to him coming home