When to avoid crowds?

if you have option...avoid
My wbc seems to always be low and get shots constantly....... but from the get go I decided that staying out of crowds made sense to me at this time in my life. So, the movie gift cards I received at Christmas...I gave to my son to use. I have the option to not have to go to an office with people, so that was good. Only recently I am venturing to food store and do that during non peak hours. But that is it.....I plan to be on the caucious side and not take any chances...don't want my chemo schedule disrupted due to someone else's jerms that got to me in this state.

Can only speak for myself -
I didn't avoid crowds at all. (I did avoid someone if I saw someone who was 'hacking up a lung' in public/store.) My theory was that maintaining as much normalacy as possible was more important to me than staying cooped up alone because I 'MIGHT' catch something. I got my flu shot and swine flu shot but other than that I did nothing different than I would have anyway. I had 2 months of A/C in the Fall before surgery and 3 months of weekly Taxol after, during the Winter. Actually I was 'healthier' this year than any other year I can remember - not a single sinus infection (I get a lot of them) or 'cold' (get a lot of them too usually) in the last year - quite a good record for me.

Winter is hard on me as i suffer from SAD very bad here so I can't picture me not being able to go to stores/mall during the Thanksgiving/Christmas Holidays even just to wander around and look at the beautiful decorations. Where I live winters are long and hard - I found that going to the Mall and making 2 laps of it was great exercise when the snow was so deep a 4X4 was needed to get around and the wind chills were in the minus 30+F. I do have access to a large gym that has an 1/8 mile indoor track above the pool area but found that it was more fun to walk the Mall than the track - I DO NOT jog/run. If it ever gets hot here this summer I will go back to Mall walking to get my walking done - as it is now between my lawn mowing and the horses I'm getting plenty of walking exercise so far this summer.

Some Hubby's are sometimes too over protective, just as some of us are as Mothers. Hubby (of 34 years) tried to tell me that I couldn't go 'places' because guys at work had told him horror stories and that he had to keep me 'safe'. After we had a long talk, he realized that he had let himself be played by them - those with no actual experience but talking through their hats. The only ones who can make decisions as to what is 'right' are the ones involved. Does he love me less or care less because he didn't try to keep me isolated once he thought about it - NO. He also did not go to any of my treatments with me - my/our choice. It was my time to read/watch TV while on A/C or sleep (the IV Benadryl put me nighty-night) while on Taxol. It would have been so stressful for ME to have him (or our Son) sitting there watching the poison being put in me and there was nothing they could do about it. Had I ever felt i needed them there, either/both would have been there - BUT that wasn't 'right' for me.

Sorry for getting so 'far off track'.

Susan

CypressCynthia said:

My WBC count was extremely
My WBC count was extremely low during chemo back in 1987 and there were no meds to help. I worked in NICU and took care of sick kids and went anywhere and everywhere and never got sick! LOL--must ahve had an angel watching over me.

However, the one thing that I am compulsive about is handwashing and I carry hand gel with me at all times. If I shake hands or am around a lot of people, I discreetly clean my hands whenever I can. I figure that I already have cancer, I don't need any other illness!

I was very ill during chemo
I was very ill during chemo and could not leave the house except for treatments most of the time. but never caught anything when my family was sick. your WBC will be very low. during treatment. The neulasta shot does not keep it level it just helps it return to normal more quickly than it would on its own. so you can have the dose dense chemo. the time is 10 days. I was in the hospital very low WBC. docs said people on chemo walk around with low WBC all the time and they just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. I have to admit I developed a bit of germaphobia and wash my hands and use sanitizer. I also close the toilet before I flush it. (now this is TMI) as I read the flush makes germs fly out, up to 3 feet. I also never eat candy out of the dishes at restaurants.
basically it makes sense to use common sense, but if you are healthy and not having issues, getting out is probably better for your immune system as it helps your peace of mind.