Shielding after chemo

I am sure others on here can provide a far more comprehensive answer than I have.......however. I had the shot of carbo last July the timeframe of 2 - 4 weeks was given to me and this was based on the period it takes for your immune system to recover. I was going on holiday to Spain exactly 4 weeks from the date of receiving the carbo, so the hospital had me in on during week 3 for bloods to make sure my red or white blood cell count had recovered.

i had the carbo on the Thursday and had to travel from Durham to Bristol the following Wednesday on the train (approx. 5 hour journey) not my brightest idea an£ the next dat From Bristol to London and the next day London to Durham. Slept most of that weekend but survived. I probably felt better for getting out and about.

Hope all goes well with your recovery.

Good luck

Hey there

The Nadir for Carboplatin is 21 days I believe. That means your immune system is at its lowest at 21 days after administration and built back up again at 28 days. Obviously different body’s react differently which is why they advise you to be careful for between 2 and 4 weeks. 
the added risk right now though is with covid etc. Everything being said though just take the right precautions etc when doing things.

fingers crossed that it all works out for you. I know it’s a worrying time but just rest up and have some decent time to let your body recover.

Hi

I had a single cycle of Carboplatin administered on 13th May.  I was told the nadir was much earlier; somewhere around days 7 to 11.  I was given very mixed advice on shielding times.  The Chemo nurses seemed focussed on just getting through the first 3 weeks without any kind of infection.  However, the letter that my oncologist wrote to my GP, which I was copied on, stated that I should be off work and shielding for 6 weeks.  My GP told me 6 months during a phone call - which I'm not taking seriously.

I was pretty rough for almost two whole weeks, but with the occasional decent day in that period.  I did try and get out for an hour or two pretty much every day, but practising strict social distancing.  My paranoia was gone after about 3 weeks, but I'll be doing strict social distancing until at least 8 weeks I think.

I am having my first set of bloods next week, which will be six weeks.  I was a bit annoyed that they didn't do bloods at 3 weeks like they told me they would.  I felt like I was improving by then, but scientific confirmation of that would have been nice, although to be fair it probably wouldn't have affected my behaviour at all.

Take care in the sun.  I was told that I would become very sensitive to burning, but I was very surprised how quickly I felt really uncomforatble in direct sunlight.  More than 5 seconds in direct sunlight on a hot day was unbearable, and I'm still sensitive today at 5 weeks.

Best of luck.  I didn't feel as bad as I feared I might, but it took a bit longer to start feeling better than I'd hoped it would.

Hey. Thanks for your message. Yeah I’m currently in the process in leaving my job and also it’s my 40th birthday coming up. I mean I have no major plans anymore but it might be nice to see someone outside my wife and kids. I might see if I can get some blood tests done then I can see actual evidence of my body and get confidence from that. 

Also, isn’t it strange how we have all been given different time frames? I mean. Even 2-4 weeks is a 100% bandwidth!! You would think this would be pretty consistent by now. Thanks for all your messages. 

Hi Kris

hopefully you'll be starting to feel a little bit better now. 

I finally had my phone consultation today (7 weeks after chemo) based on bloods that were taken just over a week ago.  My red blood cells still aren't quite back to normal, but they are where they should be at this stage.  My white blood cells are back to normal and I was told that I am no more vulnerable to Covid than anyone else, and that is based on bloods taken at about 5 1/2 weeks.  So I can start living a bit more normally now, although I haven't really worked out what passes for normal these days..... maybe takeaway food....  At least my daughter can start seeing some friends again.

G

Thanks G. I went and had blood tests this morning just over 3 weeks after my chemo. I’m due to go away this weekend so my fingers are crossed that the white blood cell count is higher. 

Feeling like I’m pretty much back to normal after the chemo and the affects have worn off. Still not sure it was worth it but time will tell on this one. 

glad your life is getting back to normal. It’s funny though they tell you how you can just go back to normal but cancer, it’s kind of always going to be with me now I think. 

K

Hi,

The 2-4 weeks window you were advised is similar to what I was given. A lot depends on you as an individual, as different people respond to carboplatin differently. So I think the doctors give us this 2-4 week window to be safe, as the increased blood cell count and normalisation does seem to differ in individuals.

I was told that the big impact actually is to platelets and that is the area of concern, as both white and red blood cell deficiency can be addressed but a drop in platelets is problematic. As I live in the tropics, the risk of dengue fever (and the impact to a person with low platelet count) was seen as the big issue, more so than the coronavirus, so I was effectively advised to stay indoors for risk of being bitten by mosquitoes.

I actually did 2 cycles of carboplatin that were administered 3 weeks apart (Jan and Feb this year), so effectively I had to self-isolate for nearly 2 months. And then with the virus issue being prevalent thereafter with forced country lockdowns, I was actually isolated for much longer.

In terms of my physical well-being, I was actually feeling fine about 2 weeks after my second and final carboplatin cycle, and was able to go for a surf, but felt tired more quickly than usual.

Good luck!