Site Map

Cancer treatment - preventing infection

Chemotherapy - preventing infection; Radiation - preventing infection; Bone marrow transplant - preventing infection; Cancer treatment - immunosuppression

When you have cancer, you may be at higher risk for infection. Some cancers and cancer treatments weaken your immune system. This makes it harder for your body to fight off germs such as viruses and bacteria. If you get an infection, it can quickly become serious and be hard to treat. In some cases, you may need to go to the hospital for treatment. So it is important to learn how to prevent and treat any infections before they spread.

How Having Cancer Increases Infection Risk

As part of your immune system, your white blood cells help fight infection. White blood cells are made in your bone marrow. Some types of cancer, such as leukemia, and some treatments including bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy affect your bone marrow and immune system. This makes it harder for your body to make new white blood cells that can fight infection and increases your infection risk.

Your health care provider will check your white blood cell count during your treatment. When levels of certain white blood cells drop too low, it is called neutropenia. Often this is a short-lived and expected side effect of cancer treatment. Your provider may give you medicines to help prevent infection if this occurs. But, you should also take some precautions.

Other risk factors for infection in people with cancer include:

Ways to Prevent Infection

There are many things you can do to help prevent infection. Here are some tips:

Know How to Spot an Infection

It is important to know the symptoms of an infection so you can call your provider right away. They include:

Do not take acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, or any medicine that reduces a fever without first talking with your provider.

When to Call Your Doctor

During or right after cancer treatment, call your provider right away if you have any of the signs of infection mentioned above. Getting an infection during cancer treatment is an emergency.

If you go to an urgent care clinic or emergency room, tell the staff right away that you have cancer. You shouldn't sit in the waiting room for a long time because you may catch an infection. Wear a mask when you have to be around people.

References

Freifeld AG, Kaul DR. Infection in the patient with cancer. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 34.

National Cancer Institute website. Chemotherapy and you: support for people with cancer. www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/chemotherapy-and-you.pdf. Updated September 2018. Accessed January 17, 2023.

National Cancer Institute website. Infection and neutropenia during cancer treatment. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/infection. Updated January 23, 2020. Accessed January 17, 2023.

BACK TO TOP

Review Date: 10/25/2022  

Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

ADAM Quality Logo
Health Content Provider
06/01/2025

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complied with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information from 1995 to 2022, after which HON (Health On the Net, a not-for-profit organization that promoted transparent and reliable health information online) was discontinued.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- 2024 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.