is London Covid safe for cancer patients?

Hi everyone, it has been while since the last time I posted here, I remember the coimmunity is very kind and helpful, thanks in advance for any advice!

So, in brief, my girlfriend was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma around two years ago, she went through chemotherapy, the tumor is in full remission, she's of course now under maintenance rituximab every 2 months and periodical PET-TAC scans to check she's not relapsing. She sweats quite often at nights and LDH is high but she doesnt have any other specific symptom now.

But my question is related to Covid. unfortunately at the moment she lives in Spain while I live in London, and she was planning to come here for a week to see me, but we're worried that in this period the Covid situation seems a bit out of control in UK... we would be of course very careful with masks and not going indoor, etc, but at the same time, she doesn't have lymphocyte levels high enough, apparently she never recovered after chemo. We're both double-jabbed for Covid of course but she didn't develop enough antibodies (waiting for the third dose). Moreover, I work in schools, so I feel I am quite often at risk of being infected and I am so scared to pass covid to her.

Probably the week before she comes here I am going to shut down all my social connections and wear a mask all the time, hoping it's enough. What do you think, is it safe for her to come here? What's your experience in this period, how many precautions you take? Hope someone can reassure us. Long-distance relationships are awful, and during Covid times are even worse..

Thanks again very much, I really appreciate your help beautiful people,

Cheers,

Ocsarf

Offline Moderator Lucie over 4 years ago

Hello Ocsarf,
Welcome back to our forum and I am glad that you have found the community kind and helpful and it's nice to hear from you again. It's great news that your girlfriend's tumour is in full remission and that they are keeping an eye on how she is doing to make sure she is not relapsing.
It must be hard for you though to have a distance relationship during these difficult covid times and you must be looking forward to seeing her again as she seems to be as well since she was planning to come and visit you for a week. It's true that covid cases are currently rather high in the UK and with you working in schools, I can completely understand your concern and that you really want to protect her so it's a really difficult choice to have to make.
I hope that other members of the forum who may have faced a similar situation will be along shortly with advice based on their personal experiences. It may be helpful also to talk to a GP who will understand the implications of your girlfriend's condition and who I am sure will have some expert medical advice to help you decide what to do and how best to protect her if she came to London at the moment. We have a detailed coronavirus section on our website and even though shielding officially ended in the UK on the 15th of September 2021, you might be interested in having a look at the coronavirus shielding advice on our website for tips and precautions your girlfriend may want to take. Another useful resource is the coronavirus guidance from london.gov.uk which provides coronavirus updates that are specific to the London area. It's good way to keep track of covid numbers in your area for example.
I hope this helps a little bit and that whatever you decide to do, I am sure that you will be reunited with your girlfriend soon and have some nice moments together. It must be so difficult for you but I completely understand that protecting her and making sure she is safe is your main priority at the moment.
Best wishes to you and your girlfriend during these challenging times,
Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator
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Offline 29Ocsarf over 4 years ago in reply to Moderator Lucie

Hi Lucie, thank you very much for you kind reply and your helpful links.
In the end we decided it's probably not worth the risk, and instead I might go myself to see her in spain, if I limit all my contacts for the 5-6 days before travelling and get tested before and after the flight I think it should be safe enough, no? Then she will come here to UK at some point once she gets the booster jab and the cases drop a bit...
If anyone else has more advice I'd really appreciate!
Cheers
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