Cancer Patients and Caregivers: Arm Yourself Against Infections and Sepsis

CDCF PCI



Cancer Patients and Caregivers:
Arm Yourself Against Infections and Sepsis



Angela Dunbar, Manager of the CDC and CDC Foundation’s
Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients Program



Angela Dunbar

I had been managing a program for people with cancer called Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients (PICP) for almost a decade when I was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer. I knew from my work on PICP that avoiding infections was very important for someone with cancer, since cancer and certain treatments, like chemotherapy, can make it harder to fight off infections. I also knew that getting an infection could quickly lead to a condition called sepsis. Sepsis is the body's extreme response to an infection and can turn deadly fast.

This National Cancer Prevention Month, arm yourself: If you or someone you love has cancer, take the right steps toward preventing infections that can lead to sepsis:

• Clean your hands a lot. Use soap and water if available, but if not in most cases an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is okay.
• Talk to your doctor or nurse about when you should get your flu shot and any other vaccines they recommend.
• Take a bath or shower every day and use an unscented lotion, so your skin won't get dry or cracked.
• Ask your doctor or nurse when your white blood cell count will be at its lowest, since this is when you will be most at risk for getting an infection.
• Take your temperature any time you don't feel well or whenever your doctor or nurse recommends.
• If you have a fever, call your doctor or nurse immediately...even after hours!

Find out more about what CDC is doing to help people with cancer prevent infections and get ahead of sepsis:
https://www.preventcancerinfections.org/
https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/

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Cancer Patients and Caregivers: Arm yourself against infections and sepsis with these tips: https://bit.ly/2BVki8e#CancerPreventionMonth #GetAheadofSepsis