What to know
Call your doctor right away if you get a fever or feel sick during your chemotherapy treatment.
Overview
People with cancer who are treated with chemotherapy are more likely to get infections. Your immune system helps your body protect itself from getting an infection. Cancer and chemotherapy can damage this system by reducing the number of infection-fighting white blood cells. This condition is called neutropenia.
An infection can lead to sepsis, the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a life-threatening medical emergency.
Find out from your doctor when your white blood cell count is likely to be lowest, since this is when you’re most at risk for infection. This usually occurs between 7 and 12 days after you finish each chemotherapy dose, and may last as long as one week.
Mask Up, Lather Up, and Sleeve Up
This video lists steps you can take to protect yourself and others from respiratory illnesses like flu and COVID-19.
How to prevent infections during your cancer treatment
Watch out for fever
If you get a fever during your chemotherapy treatment, it's a medical emergency. Take your temperature any time you feel warm, flushed, chilled, or not well. Call your doctor right away if you have a temperature of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher.
Wash your hands often
Clean hands help prevent infections. You and anyone who comes around you, including family members, doctors, and nurses, also should wash their hands often. Don't be afraid to ask people to wash their hands.
Know the symptoms of infection
Call your doctor right away if you notice any symptoms of an infection, such as a fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, redness or swelling in any area, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Featured resources
- Learn your risk for getting a low white blood cell count and infections during chemotherapy.
- "I had to wave off their hugs and handshakes," says Ronda, a breast cancer survivor.