Most chemotherapy drugs are out of the body within 48 hours of treatment.
Cancer brings challenges for patients and loved ones alike. Treatments like chemotherapy can make it tough for patients to do everyday activities at home. Caregivers often feel overwhelmed as they take on tasks no longer feasible for patients. Household members may also worry about safely helping someone who still has chemo drugs in their body.
To help ease some of these mental burdens, caregivers can review expert recommendations for living with someone on chemo. This guidance falls into two categories:
- Precautions for keeping the chemo patient safe
- Precautions for keeping loved ones safe in the chemo patient’s home
Keep reading to learn more about caring for chemo patients at home.
Precautions for Keeping a Chemo Patient Safe at Home
Chemotherapy can weaken the immune system, putting patients at higher risk of infection. Household members may want to take steps to reduce these risks as much as possible. This can mean being strict about food safety, avoiding bringing infections into the home and more.
Put Extra Effort Into Food Safety
Prioritizing the safety of snacks and meals in the house can help reduce the risk of getting sick from food. Experts recommend general food safety measures like:
- Avoiding cross-contamination between raw meats and other foods
- Properly cooking and cooling all prepared foods
- Thoroughly rinsing produce, even if it comes pre-washed
Maintain Personal Cleanliness
Regular hand washing can help reduce infection risks. Patients and loved ones can do the following:
- Have household members and guests remove their shoes before coming inside.
- Routinely wash hands with warm water and soap, especially after going to the restroom, touching pets or handling garbage.
- Sanitize hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer when you can’t wash with soap.
You may do certain chores more often than usual with a chemo patient at home. Even if you wear gloves during dirty tasks, germs or cleaners may still get through. Washing your hands after removing gloves is still a good idea.
Clean the Home Regularly
Your home doesn’t need to look like an empty hotel room to protect a loved one undergoing chemo. But you can take care to do a few types of chores regularly. Experts emphasize the following:
- Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily. This includes computers, countertops, door and appliance handles, faucets, tables, toilets and phones.
- Clean and disinfect less frequently touched surfaces weekly. This includes bathtubs, showers, floors and trash cans.
Chemo patients may be sensitive to strong smells. It can be helpful to keep as many windows open as possible while cleaning. You can also opt for milder cleaners, like a simple vinegar wash.
Get Recommended Vaccines and Avoid Crowds
Household members may have strong immune systems, but they can still carry infections home. Experts recommend avoiding crowds and people with known infectious illnesses as much as possible. If you must visit a crowded place like an emergency room, wear a mask.
People sharing a home with a chemo patient can also make sure their vaccinations are up to date. This may include COVID, flu and other types of vaccines. You can discuss which vaccines are most important with the cancer care team or oncologist.
Precautions for Keeping Loved Ones Safe in a Chemo Patient’s Home
Chemotherapy drugs can stay in a patient’s body for up to a week after treatment. During this time period, the chemo drug can be present in bodily fluids, including blood, sweat, urine and vomit. Exposure to chemo-contaminated materials can harm household members. They may develop rashes, nausea, vomiting, headaches and other reactions.
The patient and their housemates can take steps to reduce chemotherapy exposure in the home. Experts recommend using extra precautions in the following situations:
- If the patient uses disposable sanitary products
- If the patient vomits
- When the patient uses the toilet
- While doing the patient’s laundry
Guidelines encourage wearing 2 pairs of disposable gloves when dealing with any of the above. It is important that the gloves are resistant to chemo drugs. This property can be verified on the glove packaging. After use, you can throw gloves (and similar chemo trash) into a sealed plastic garbage bag inside of another sealed plastic garbage bag.
Safeguards for Handling Disposable Sanitary Products From a Chemo Patient
Some patients use disposable sanitary napkins, diapers or underwear. These items may be soiled with chemo-contaminated fluids. You can dispose of these items (wearing chemo-resistant gloves) by double bagging them and throwing them out in your usual trash bin.
Precautions for Chemo Patients Using the Toilet at Home
Patients can help reduce splashes by sitting when they use the toilet and closing the toilet lid before flushing. Flushing twice after use can help wash away contaminated fluids. If possible, the patient can use a different toilet than others in the household. If not, someone can wear disposable gloves and clean the toilet seat after the patient uses it. When not in use, keeping the toilet lid closed may keep pets from drinking out of it.
Handling a Chemo Patient’s Laundry
Clothes, sheets and other fabrics may become soiled with sweat or other bodily fluids. Keep them separate from other household laundry. If you can’t wash them immediately, you can seal them in a plastic bag until they can be washed. At that time, the items can be washed in a regular washing machine in warm water with normal laundry detergent. Experts warn against washing them by hand.
Cleaning Up After a Chemo Patient Vomits
If the patient vomits in the toilet, it can be flushed twice after cleaning off any splashes (wearing gloves). Patients may prefer to vomit in a plastic bucket instead. The bucket can be slowly emptied into the toilet to keep the fluids from spilling elsewhere. After flushing the toilet twice, you can clean the bucket with hot soapy water. After rinsing, the bucket can be dried with paper towels. The paper towels can be disposed of in the same bag as the gloves.
What If I Have to Manage Something Else?
Whether they have mesothelioma or not, cancer patients have access to many resources. You can reach out to your loved one’s care team with additional questions. A patient navigator or social worker may also be able to help. Cancer center staff should be able to point you in the right direction.
