You Have Cancer, Now What Senior? #4
The SENIOR #4
The following narrative is designed for cancer patients, their friends, family, caretakers, and medical professionals. This section covers the discharge process, staying infection-free, and going home. This guide is first intended for patients who will be hospitalized for long stays, but also applies to out-patients. This is the second of four linked segments.
iLeukout does not conduct or use scientific peer-reviewed data to make any medical claims or reporting. Please confirm with your medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing any considerations presented by iLeukout. iLeukout does not make any pharmacological recommendations on our posts. Drug related references are detailed by what methods the author of the post or their medical team might have used. Every patient and medical team is different, and what may have worked for one patient may vary greatly for another, including benefits and side-effects.
So you finally get to go home senior! Look at you!!! Congratulations with completing your hospital treatments, you have come a long way. Now you get to pack up, get home, and begin the next phase of your treatment. No more being connected to that annoying pole for days, instead, you get to sleep in your own bed, and return to your regular scheduled programming.
All this while, you have been at a traffic stop. Just because you have been given the green light to go home, doesn't mean you can just speed into the intersection with the same velocity you had before you were sick. Remember, the red lights were there to keep you from dangers, so when you receive the green light, be sure to still watch for oncoming dangers, and then ease into your regular pace later on. Easy does it.
Now that you are out and free, you will need to be more careful than ever. Your nurses are not there to solve most of your problems, so you might need some additional temporary help from your close family, friends, caretakers, or a home healthcare nurse. You will be scheduled for regular check-ups and scans at a cancer clinic, and might also be back in the hospital either for more treatment phases, or if you fall more ill. Either way, you can use the previous information from the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior levels repeatedly, as it applies.
Top 7 Things to remember about reducing risks of infection
1. Some may think that just because you get to go home, the fight is over. Oh no! It is like finally graduating, but then facing the challenges of starting a new job. Now you get to be tested in the real world, not your hospital or clinic. You may not be able to completely rid yourself of germs, in order to evade illnesses, but you shouldn’t give up trying. Patients could ultimately reduce their exposure to germs, and further keep them from getting ill.
2. Beware of coughers and sneezers. Others may not have great manners when spreading bacteria around. You should stay clear of those that appear sick, and are coughing nearby, especially in closed and confined spaces.
3. So what happens when you get coughed or sneezed on, while your counts are low? You would want to find the nearest sink to wash and rinse yourself as quickly as possible. Coughs and sneezes can spread several feet, and there is a good chance some of what you can see being spread from another person, has already begun making its way through your system. Being neutropenic is nothing to take lightly. It literally means you do not have enough of a fighting force to defend and protect you against bad stuff, while your system rebuilds. You should always have enough Vitamin-C in your system, and try defense systems like Emergen-C or Airborne for immune health.
4. Say goodbye to certain habits, foods and drinks. When out and about, turn down food or drinks in public places. If you cannot vet the way they were cooked or prepared, most likely avoid it, no matter if its free, or handed to you by the nicest person you know. When the food was prepared, it wasn’t made for a neutropenic patient, it was prepared for people with normally functioning immune systems, and that just isn’t you yet. You might have to eliminate certain habits that might make your health condition worse.
5. When out in public places, try to wear long sleeve clothing to help protect against the sun, and also create somewhat of a shell against germs to your skin. If possible, plan your day around avoiding the hottest parts of the day. Try not to lean or place your hands on public surfaces, as you could pick up more germs. When going out to public places like gas stations, and grocery shops, use the sanitizer wipes provided, or bring your own.
6. You don’t have to roll around in a hamster bubble, that would be kind of fun, but make sure you are aware when you touch foreign objects, and when items like wallets, purses, keys, etc., might be covered in germs, so that you are sure to sanitize afterwards.
7. Avoid buying foods like fresh produce and meats from public stores that may not have reputable quality.
Top 7 More things to remember when you go home
1. Try to schedule or request your medical appointments early in the morning, rather than around lunch or closing time. Less sick patients have been in the same facilities that may or may not be frequently sanitized, and you get revived medical professionals that are not in a haste to get to lunch or home.
2. Choose a pharmacy that is open 24 hours.
3. Stay clear of shaking too many hands and giving hugs until your counts are high again. Always carry a small pack of sanitizer wipes and gels. Encourage your close-knit folks, who will be around you, to practice proper hygiene as well. Be more careful with smaller children that may not practice hand-washing as properly as some adults.
4. If you start having symptoms your medical team had warned you about, try to go back to your medical treatment center first, if it not too far. No one is more familiar with you and your situation than the treatment center that treated you. With that being said, if you can’t get to your oncology quickly enough, or need to call for emergency transportation, then obviously report to the emergency room, but be sure to wear a mask.
5. If you and the sun must cross paths, you need to cover up. This means thin long sleeves, fleeces, hats, hats hats, that also cover the back of your neck. You will need to apply sunscreen often and properly.
6. Keep a small bag packed. You need to keep a small bag handy, in case your fever does go over the normal range advised, you have disturbing heart or breathing issues, along with other symptoms. This bag should include clothing for a couple of days, a mask, toiletries, some medications you must take, and a bottle of water. If you are being picked up by an ambulance, and are able, remind the medical transportation team to grab that packed bag. You might leave this bag somewhere visible, if you live alone.
7. Have a nausea plan. Have vomit buckets or trash cans with liners that are close to beds and sitting areas, since some nausea spells could happen at any time. Also have your fast acting nausea medication handy. Never operate motor vehicles when you are using most advanced nausea and pain medication.
Top 7 Things you must do before going home, or when you get there.
1. Have written instructions on what to do when you get home, and this includes having your detailed medicine list and a medicine case to organize meds. Set alarms and notifications in order to help take drugs on time.
2. After receiving your medicine, either from the pharmacy or hospital, you and your caretakers should try to be alert and cautious. There is a small but important chance you might be receiving the wrong medication, or it might be expired. Always check your medicine for names, dates, and descriptions.
3. Have your carpets, beds, linen, couches, and air vents cleaned. Absolutely no shoes that have been outside, should be walking through your home. If you wear socks, then have house shoes on while you walk through the house. Wipe bare feet with disinfectant wipes before climbing in bed. Nothing that touches the floor should make it to where you rest your head.
4. Have pets groomed and cleaned if you are allowed to have pets around at this time. (See our detailed list of pet care below).
5. You should keep your surroundings tidy throughout the day. Clean wherever you sit often, and clean remote controls, mobile and tech devices frequently. Bed sheets must be changed often. Don’t let them touch the ground, and then be reused. Always make sure you have enough soap, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes around the home. Surfaces need to be wiped down with antibacterial and environmentally safe materials. Gloves and masks are your best friend. Wear them for anything you have been advised, especially for cooking and cleaning, or when outdoors.
6. Revamp your appliances, equipment, and so. Hopefully, nothing perishable has been in your refrigerator. You need to stock your refrigerator with items that suit your new diet plan. You will also need to watch out for appliances like coffee makers that have had some water sitting in them for a while, or sponges, tooth brushes, wooden cutting board that could mold, used washcloths, or old luffas that have been waiting patiently for you to get home. Run your coffee or tea maker through a few cycles before using.
7. You may have to use paper plates, plastic spoons, and forks while your counts are still low. This could save you doing dishes you don’t have the energy to do, and more importantly, dishes and silverware with ridges and crevices might not be properly cleaned at times, and could create a cafeteria for hungry bacteria looking for a new menu item in your tummy.
Top 7 Things to remember about your pets when counts are low
Pets are our best friends, and they bring us comfort and joy during good and bad times. They can also be very therapeutic during your healing process. However, several medical institutions and professionals will warn you not to have your pets around when your counts are very low. They are correct. Single or multiple pets are overwhelming to handle, clean, train, and walk. For example, your pets might now become a hassle as you struggle with caring for yourself as the top priority. Some days, you may not even have the strength to get out of bed, let alone care after your pets. When you are able to have pets, these ideas might help you as you continue to live in a clean environment as possible.
1. Get your pets groomed, and their nails or claws trimmed. The less you have to deal with, the better.
2. Use a mask and gloves when handling your pets, their toys, leashes, and food, especially after they have been outside. Also, use masks and gloves when tidying the kitty litter, or bathing your pets.
3. Faces in Feces. After your pet is back in the house, or after they have been in the kitty litter, if you believe they have mud or have buried their faces in the ground, bushes, feces, etc., it is best to go ahead and give them a bath. If they did not get as dirty, you should bathe or wipe them down with antibacterial pet wipes every time they return from outside. You wouldn’t place your shoes that have stepped in dirt, bird and animal feces, mud, bugs, etc., on your bed without wiping them off would you? Your pets’ paws, face, and tail are all prone to picking up germs, and should not be neglected. Especially for dogs, you would want to clean their paws, face, tail, and privates. These areas would have the most germs. Remember, we can’t eliminate all dirt or germs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to limit them for our prolonged health and safety.
4. I love you, but…Keep pets away from beds, couches, and other sleeping areas, until your counts are back up, or you are no longer neutropenic.
5. It was all good a week ago. Based on your treatment side-effects, even when properly cleaned and groomed, your pet could now make you allergic, and cause you to have added nausea or other irritations just by being around.
6. Goodbye for now. You may have to give or send your pets away until you are healthy enough to be around them and tend to their needs.
7. Too close for comfort. Avoid being too close to where your pets can lick or sneeze on your face. If this happens, be sure to wash yourself immediately.
Top 7 Things to remember when eating at a restaurant
1. You are what you eat, and where you eat. Even though you are no longer hospitalized, you might want to avoid restaurant dine-in and delivery food until your counts are completely back up, and your medical team clears you to eat food outside the home. After being cleared, you will need to be extra cautious from here on out, until you have been completely restored.
2. Select a restaurant with a healthy menu and good service that can take care of you. From now on, think of yourself as a VIP guest, and your food must be prepared as such, no excuses. If your food isn’t up to standard, please avoid it. Normal people get food poisoning and other gastrointestinal complications regularly, so how much more you that is faced with a depleted and rebuilding immune system?
3. Select a clean restaurant. Try to select a restaurant that not only has great reputation with their healthy food and drinks, but more importantly, they should have high food inspection scores. The food inspection scores cover food preparation, storage, employee practices, and also the restaurant’s facilities. Look for restaurants in the high 90s, but this should not be the only condition you use to select a restaurant. There are other factors on this list.
4. Speak to your server or a manager about making special recommendations for you. This may include giving you a packaged plastic spoon and fork, rather than the restaurant’s silverware, that may not be as clean as your recovering immune system would tolerate. If you don’t have disinfectant wipes for your silverware, as these wipes could come in handy even when using public restrooms, you could ask for utensil wipes, as more restaurants are starting to carry these. If not, have yours with you. Drink out of a straw, that you open yourself, rather than the glass. If a server opens your straw from the package, you cannot verify the cleanliness of their hands.
5. What to order. Avoid fresh foods, salads, veggies, fruits, sushi, etc. Though the hospital or cancer center might serve you fresh food that had been vetted and prepared for patients with low immune systems, commercial restaurants prepare their food for customers with normal immune systems. Your immune system might not be fully recovered yet. Stick to warm soups, packaged items, very well cooked meats, and veggies, if those are your choices. Try to avoid seafood, especially from restaurants that you may not trust.
6. Don’t wash your hands just yet. Some think it wise to wash their hands as soon as they get to the restaurant, but you will actually touch the soiled menu that several other customers and servers have touched, bathroom door, your phone, etc. Instead, take your seat, order your drink and food, hand the menu to the waiter, and then go wash your hands. You might touch the bathroom door, and smartphone, so still carry portable hand sanitizer with you, as you will need this right before you eat.
7. Try to order items that involve you NOT eating with your hands, rather with your plastic or silverware.
Top 7 Possible signs you should return to your cancer treatment center
1.When your blood counts are low, even minimal signs of infection must be reported immediately. Your immune system doesn’t really have much of a fight to put up. You are highly susceptible to “bad stuff,” where even an open hangnail could create an entry gate for bacteria to enter your blood stream. You will have to be very careful.
2. Fever over the safe range your medical team instructs you, night sweats, and chills. You should always have a thermometer and blood pressure monitor at home. If you are able, have a stethoscope, finger oximeter and heart-rate monitor at home.
3. Lack of appetite. Your system doesn't want anything else going in when it knows there is about to be a Niagara Falls moment, it's smart, listen to it.
4. Abnormal stool. Look for various colors, shapes, and sizes. Here is another link from The Mayo Clinic about what you need to know about your stool. Several of the drugs you take have similar symptoms, so the presence of some symptoms may not truly be an infection. You have to understand your own body. Every time you have lose stool doesn't mean you have gastric malware corrupting your system, also known as our friend, diarrhea. You could have had too many fruits recently, and foods high in soluble fiber could help form your stool into solid. If you don't understand your system well enough yet, when in doubt, please report to your medical team.
5. Niagara Falls moment. You could let the bad stuff out and feel better sooner, or let your heroic system fight the bacteria longer, your choice, but remember, if you have already swallowed several important pills, you may want these to stay in. However, sometimes your system will determine which direction it wants gravity to go, up or down.
6. Increased dark colored phlegm/mucus.
7. Abnormal urine and urination. This includes overly dark or bright pink discolorations, and painful urination.
Bonus: Inflated and irritated lymph nodes.
Top 7 Interesting things about fighting cancer
1. When you beat it. There can be so much joy and positive energy in the room when your medical team informs you that your treatments have gone successfully. This is different from when you are told that you will no longer be receiving treatments, and that you no longer need frequent check-ups. Enjoy it! You get to go out and “carefully” do the things you have waited so long for. Some treatment centers have bells which are
rung by patients during their last days of treatment.
2. You get to rock a baldy. Mr. Clean, Michael Jordan, etc. who wouldn't want to be like these guys right? After treatments, you will be overjoyed to find your hair coming back.
3. Some people are a lot nicer or compassionate to you during this time. This could range from family, friends, and even loved ones from past relationships.
5. You get to start afresh. Your body essentially goes through detoxing and rejuvenating phases.
6. You get to rest. During aggressive to moderate treatments, you could spend most of your time in a hospital bed or at home, while your body recovers.
7. The results of your treatment could go to helping other patients in the future.
Bonus: Your check-ups give you a leg up. You get frequent tests that the average person doesn’t get. For example, you are more aware when your White Blood Cells are low, you can see when your Magnesium level is low, when scans show your lungs are beginning to form a mass, your kidney function, platelets, and other levels. For example, you could attempt to adjust poor kidney function by staying hydrated, or reducing certain items in your diet, such as some seafood and meats, reducing some medications, while adding more citrus. You would know this information and other vital bodily functions from frequent check-ups and tests. Your medical professionals should advise you when your tests are alarming, and after a while, you will understand more on your own.
As clearly stated in our terms of use, patients are different individuals, and should please confirm with medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing with any advice found from outside sources.
Hope you found even parts of this information useful. Good luck with the remainder of your treatment and recovery process. Share, support, serve, and survive for yourself and others.
