Hi everyone,
My Dad should have had his last cycle of chemo on 7th July but due to an infection on his foot, this has been delayed provisionally until this Friday 21st July. The infection hasn't quite healed yet and I was wondering how long chemo can be left between cycles as we are coming up to 5 weeks this week and he should have it every 3.
Any advice would be great.
TIA
Hello curlywurly19
Am sorry to hear that Dad has had an infection in his foot and that has meant a delay in his chemo.
It is quite normal to delay chemo when someone has an infection and they need to be as well as possible to cope with the chemo and the side effects. Also chemo makes you more prone to infections and they can take longer to heal from. I can understand your concern though and that you just want the treatment to be done.
I had chemo last Spring/Summer and had an infection that I needed to be admitted for and it was touch and go whether I could go ahead with my next chemo cycle. I was lucky to be able to have the chemo as my bloods came up and intravenous antibiotics dealt with the infection. At the time I asked the doctor if it would be ok if the chemo was delayed and he said it was fine and better to be recovered. He also said that the chemo that I had already had would still be having an effect. On the following cycle I became neutropenic (low white blood cells) and due to the risk of infection they would have delayed the chemo, but luckily again my bloods improved just enough to get into the low but normal range.
Its a good sign that Dad's infection is healing, even if it hasn't completely healed yet. Maybe have a chat with Dad's CNS/Doctors to get a bit of reassurance- they know all his medical history and I am sure would be happy to answer any questions about the delay in chemo.
Alternatively you could give the support line a quick call and speak to one of the nurses on there. They would be able to talk to you generally about chemo and delaying it. The number is below if it is something that would help.
I hope Dad's infection clears up and that he can get back on to his treatment schedule.
Jane
Am sorry to hear this- had hoped that Dad's infection would be clearing up by now. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to support you
