Neutropenic Sepsis - contact?

Hi all,

First time poster - my mom (76) was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer and has been receiving chemo. She recently had her second session. She's had terrible side effects since the off - bone pain, extreme nausea (eating almost nothing), and chemo rash :( However 6 days after session 2 the other sign she fainted (thankfully into the wrong room but my dad was in it) - Couldn't get her off the floor so had to call ambulance which turned out to be a blessing as severely dehydrated and is in hospital now and while there, bloods have come back to confirm sepsis and Neurtopenia (terrified to think where we'd be if she'd been able to get up and gone back to bed)

So my question is, once she returns home, what should we be doing (ie how strict in terms of contact, visitors, reducing chance of infection) - I don't want to limit her life entirely and make her miserable but want to do all we can as risk is now high of sepsis again - is daily disinfection too much? no visitors? any advise much welcome, we are very new to all this and my dad is also elderly and struggle with care (i live abroad)

thank you!

  • Welcome to the Cancer Chat community Sharon although I'm really sorry to hear about your mom.

    I can't begin to imagine how scary it must have been for you and your dad when your mom collapsed but I'm glad to hear she is now being looked after in hospital and starting to recover.

    I hope some of the information provided by Blood Cancer UK on avoiding infection will provide some pointers on how you can help your mom when she returns home but if you or your dad would like to discuss this with one of our cancer nurses, they're available on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m. You can also make a post about this in their section of the forum just here.

    Hopefully some of our members who have experienced this or supported family or friends who have contracted sepsis and/or neutropenia will share their thoughts and advice with you soon but in the meantime, we're thinking of you Sharon and sending all our strength and support your way.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator