Most Cancer patients and caregivers believe that they are in the clear once their Cancer treatment is complete, and the doctor informs them that the Cancer has been ‘managed’.
However, many Cancer mortalities today are a direct result of Secondary Infections acquired after Cancer treatment.
Secondary infections after cancer treatment
Once the total prescribed treatment has been completed, Cancer patients continue to remain at risk for a variety of bacterial/viral infections and allergies, more than the average individual, because of a compromised immune system and pre-exposure towards the toxicity of various drugs used in the treatment of Cancer. Such infections can lead to serious complications and even death, for patients who may already be in remission.
Signs that a cancer patient has acquired a post-treatment infection
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Risk of infection after surgical cancer treatment
It is important to understand the factors that can affect the chances of a post-surgical infection in a Cancer patient. These factors include, but are not limited to:
- Duration of a patient’s stay in the hospital
- Extent of surgery (Percentage of incision/penetration of organs during surgery)
- Length/duration of the surgical procedure
- Volume of blood lost during the surgery
- Nutritional status of the patient (pre-existing deficiencies, nutritional conditions, etc)
If a patient has previously received Cancer treatment such as Chemotherapy/Radiation, or has undergone treatment for serious medical conditions such as Diabetes/Coronary Heart Disease, doctors/surgeons usually prescribe antibiotics as a supplement to keep the Immune system robust and to help in preventing post-surgical infections.
Risk of infection after chemotherapy for cancer
The factors that determine the risk of infection after chemotherapy include:
- The stage and type of Cancer
- Nutritional status of the patient (pre-existing deficiencies, nutritional conditions, etc)
Some chemotherapy drugs are known to affect the Bone Marrow and Immune System more than others. Chemotherapy drugs are also known to impact the production of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in the human body. In most cases, Immune Cells (WBCs) get affected the most. It can take several weeks/months for the immune system of a Cancer patient to recover fully after Chemotherapy.
Risk of infection after radiation therapy for cancer
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Risk of infection after immunotherapy treatments for cancer
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Risk of infection after a Stem Cell Transplant / Bone Marrow Transplant procedure for cancer
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Preventing secondary infections after cancer
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Further Reading
- What Is Remission?
Thanks for reading!
The future Of cancer treatments
Onco team encourages the imagination of a future where Cancer treatment gets simplified to the extent of injecting two simple agents into any tumour before surgically removing it. These treatments can also serve as the key to prevent recurrence by undetected metastasis. For cases where genetic markers and receptors (such as BRCA-1/BRCA-2) can predict Cancer risk with a fair amount of accuracy, these treatments will truly become effective as ‘Cancer Medicines’.
The best way to understand if an individual’s Cancer case can benefit from developments such as Levy’s breakthroughs, is to consult an expert Oncologist based in the US.
Further reading: Why The Jade Goody Effect Is Dying Out, And Cervical Cancer Awareness Needs A Boost!
Note: This is an employee-authored column, and the opinions expressed herein rest solely with the author (Shomprakash Sinha Roy). They are not representative of the opinions of Onco.com as an organization.