Social Events / Going Out

Hey Cats

This is gonna be an unpopular opinion, but I do whatever I want.  You have cancer - what have you got to lose?

I drink booze when I want and can, eat what I want/when I can, go out when I want with my husband and friends and carry on as normally as chemo allows me to on the good days.

Life is for LIVING regardless of cancer; in my view the cancer treatment and everything that surrounds it is utterly boring. 

And worry is a debt you many never have to pay.

Live YOUR life and don't worry about anybody else especially any nosebonks, curtain twitchers and miserable humans.

:) 

I asked my oncologist what she advised before Covid and she said basically when in chemo, avoid people who are ill!  That's pretty much what I did, I was sensible but I was not a hermit! 

Ok so! My sister had Hodgkin’s 20 years ago and I can tell you that her socialising advice was exactly the same as the advice we’re given now, minus the masks obviously. The biggest risk to people on chemo is infection and sepsis. My sister was hospitalised 3 times with secondary infections. There’s a reason they give us that red card!! I had a mini meltdown about this myself and discussed it with Macmillan and a friend who is a senior haematology nurse and my oncologist and this is what we cobbled together as a ‘rule book’

go to pubs, restaurants and cafes where there is a garden or high ceilings and good ventilation (windows, bi fold doors,etc) and the tables are reasonably spaced. You are NOT the one who orders at the bar! 

Anywhere that has recycled aircon is a no no (most places don’t have this, the small flat units you get on walls in a hotel.

No enclosed spaces, cinema, theatre, etc.

Avoid public transport and massive supermarkets.

If meeting with groups of friends inside homes ask them to LFT test before they see you and keep gatherings smaller if you can and better still outside. If there is a group of you ask if they wouldn’t mind you using a separate toilet that only you use while you’re there that they have cleaned first and put a clean towel in maybe their en-suite.

Don’t go anywhere busy indoors or outdoors. 

I drink alcohol when I feel like it, I see people I know are sensible, I avoid anyone who I know is high risk.

Do not mix with anyone who is currently ill, no matter how mild the illness or within 48 hours of them having stomach bugs.

I do agree with wake and bake in the sense that once you’ve made your decision about your rules ignore everyone else’s views, it’s your choice at the end of the day! But I personally couldn’t throw caution to the wind because I’ve seen first hand the potential cost of that and it wasn’t pretty and I’d like to survive this x

Hi I love your post and I hope to be able to be in this position once I get my treatment plan.  Like  you say life is for living and I only hope that I can have this attitude later down the line on the good days. 

Thank you! I'm still undergoing treatment and what Anna said above is very sensible for anybody who feels apprehensive and worried.

I've got a bit more of cavalier, 'I've been on the planet for 40 plus years' and now my boobs tried to kill me - oh, to hell with it, I'll just get whatever fun, stupidity, laughs and adventures that I can in with whatever time is left (stage 2, so I may have a few years yet)!!

I watched my late mother rot in hospital with terminal non-Hodgkins lymphoma, crappy palliative care and morphine over 14 years ago, so nooooooo way am I going down that route...  I'm here for a good time, not a long time!!! 

Anna's advice really resonates, doesn't it?

How funny to see my old advice resurrected! I still stand by it although thank goodness COVID isn’t as prevalent. Like I say, my sister had cancer 20 years before COVID and was given the same advice as I was during COVID. I think you just have to be sensible, recognise that for a while you are extra vulnerable but that for good mental health you need a balance. I couldn’t work as I work in primary school and the oncologist wouldn’t have it so I didn’t have that dilemma x

While you are having chemotherapy your immune system is compromised, so I'd be careful and wear a FFP 3 mask if you are in high risk areas. Cancer is a disability and work will be aware of the laws. WFH is the safer option for you and I doubt they'd expect you to go into a office.