Immune system recovery timeline after remission

Hello 

it great news to hear where you are in your journey.  

I’m sorry I don’t have an answer for you.                                

However I can tell you what my husband has been told whilst you await others responses who’ve experienced it first hand .

 My husband has his final treatment next week on 11th August after 6 months of ABVD and starting with stage 4B . His consultant has told him he’s decided my husband doesn’t require any final scans as they were so pleased with results from his 2nd pet scan. He has his blood tests organised for 5th October and depending on blood improving he’s been told they are aiming for him to be able to return to work towards end of November /December . 

However I have seen how physically depleted my husband has been even before diagnosis so I want him to keep an open mind and put his physical well being first before trying to return to work. 

I hope everything goes really well for your scans xx

I don’t think there’s any sensible answer that I can give, you need to be guided by your team, who know you best and can give you answers based on your test results. A blood cancer does always mean that you need to take care. 
I’m assuming your work area is as Covid-safe as possible and you will be masked etc?

Hugx xxx

Thanks Shaz. I am keen to get back to work, but a little scared about the virus. I will be asking my boss if there is to be a risk assessment done, perhaps that may assure me. 

Hope everything goes well for your Husband.

Why does blood cancer mean you always need to take care?

Hello 

My understanding is the chemo drugs travel through the blood stream to target the cancer cells but in doing so they also reach and kill healthy cells . Before diagnosis my husbands white blood cell count was very low meaning his body was doing its best to fight the cancer but it just was over worked and his immune system was compromised and so things that other people can shake off easily like a cold  could have much worse effects as the immune system isn’t strong enough to fight back. 
He’s just about to have his final chemo session but we have shielded since March and strictly adhered to the 2m social distancing etc if our sons should visit us in the garden as we want to minimise any chance of infections. 
hope that makes sense . X

I have NHL.  My team told me it would take 6 months for my immune system to recover enough for me to be up close and personal around my grandchildren and that I would need to continue prophylaxis for that period.

In your case, I expect a lot will depend on the covid-safe plan in your workplace as that will also protect you from more mundane nasties.

Make sure that before you return to work you're 100% compliant with infection control outside the home and see if you can organise a staged return.

Blood tests will also give your team an idea of how much your immune system is recovering, so it might be a good idea to discuss benchmarks with them.

Thank you. Yes that makes sense and is very helpful. 

I'm really pleased your husband's treatment has gone so well. Hope his immune system picks up real quick now and he can enjoy some family cuddles again soon xxx

Hi Frog,

treatment for blood cancers, especially any part of the immune system, can inevitably damage that system just a little. So the team will determine how strong that immune system is after treatment, and whether any extra care needs to be taken.

Normally an immune system should recover after first line therapy to very near full, but the medical team should be your first port of information as to how complete that is. 

in our daughters case (a bit extreme, certainly, as her lymphoma was so resistant to treatment) she has virtually no natural immunity so needs immunoglobulins to keep her free of infections. One complete winter after she moved sounth she had infection after infection, sinus ones which took a lot of antibiotics to shift. Now she injects the I/gs herself.

Hugs xxx

Gosh there is so much to this cancer business I'd never even realised/thought about. 

Sounds like your daughter has had a long difficult road, but good that she is able to inject now. God damm covid sure does add extra stress to everyone

Hi, 

Congratulations on finishing you chemo. I had the same treatment for HL stage 4b. I finished in may and got told i was in remission in july. Hopefully you have your results now and you are also in remission. 

I asked my hematologist the same question. He said that I'd be able to return to work 3 months after my treatment ended as long as they were covid safe. He also said that i will be on the shielding list for 2 years. So if we have another lockdown where shielding people are told to shield again, i will be one of them. 

I hope rhis helps

Stay safe 

Katy x