Tips for Dealing With Neutropenia
When you get chemotherapy for breast cancer, youâll very likely run low on white blood cells called neutrophils. Doctors call this neutropenia. Itâs a normal part of going through chemo.
With neutropenia, youâre more likely to get infections and fever. Thatâs because neutrophils are part of your bodyâs front-line immune response. So with fewer of them available to fight off threats, youâre more vulnerable.
Keep in mind that neutropenia is a temporary side effect of chemo â and you can take simple precautions to help avoid catching an infection.
Do these things to help protect yourself:
- Get all your vaccinations that your doctor recommends. This includes the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters. Ask about other vaccines, like those for hepatitis B and pneumonia. If youâre getting chemotherapy, your immune system needs the help no matter what your age is.
- Wash your hands often.
- Avoid contact with people who you know to be sick. Do this even if they say they feel OK or arenât infectious anymore.
- Avoid busy indoor spaces. âIf you need to go to an indoor place like church or the grocery store, wear a mask and limit the amount of time youâre there as much as you can. I would even suggest wearing a mask if youâre at a crowded outdoor event,â says Jeremy Pappacena, PharmD, a clinical pharmacy specialist in hematology and oncology at Allegheny Health Network in Pennsylvania.
- Prepare your food carefully. Cook food thoroughly. âAvoid having meats on the rarer side or things like sushi or other uncooked fish, and wash and scrub raw fruits and vegetables,â Pappacena says.
- Have the people help protect you. Ask family members and others who live with you to follow similar precautions as much as possible.
You donât have to take your temperature every day during chemotherapy. But if you notice symptoms of infection â like feeling flushed or chilled, being short of breath, or feeling weak or otherwise unwell â tell your doctor.
If you develop a fever while getting chemotherapy, call your doctor immediately and tell them your symptoms.
âThey might tell you that everything is OK, or they might want you to go to your doctorâs office or nearest emergency department,â says Nan Chen, MD, a breast cancer specialist at the University of Chicago. âIf you go to the ED, be sure to tell the doctor there that you are on chemotherapy.â
How severe neutropenia is and how long it lasts varies. It partly depends on the kind of chemotherapy youâre getting, Pappacena says.
âMost people see their lowest points of neutropenia somewhere around the middle of their treatment cycle,â Pappacena says. âIf youâre getting chemo every 4 weeks, then your neutropenia will usually be at its lowest around 2 weeks after the last treatment. It definitely can get worse as treatment continues.â
The main treatments that doctors use to help shorten neutropenia and protect you from infection are medications called G-CSFs (granulocyte colony-stimulating factors). You usually get them by injection about 24 hours after a dose of chemotherapy.
âIf we are giving chemotherapy that has a moderate or high risk of leaving you neutropenic for many days, we will give you G-CSF medication after chemotherapy to bump up your white blood cells,â Chen says.
For most people who get chemotherapy that can cause neutropenia, doctors prescribe long-acting G-CSF medications. With long-acting G-CSF medication, you only have to have one injection after each chemotherapy treatment. You can either go back to the cancer center where you got your chemotherapy for your injection the next day, or you can self-inject the medication at home (or have a partner inject it for you).
A newer option for delivering long-acting G-CSFs is called Onpro. It comes in a kit with a prefilled syringe inside a blister pack that is applied to your skin (usually on your upper arm). Your health care provider prepares an area of skin and applies the on-body injector pack. They will insert a short needle that delivers the medication under your skin about 27 hours later.
âOnce the injector is activated, it will slowly administer the medication over about 45 minutes,â Pappacena says. âYou have to be careful not to accidentally knock it off or take it off too soon so that you donât get a full dose of the medication. Thereâs a nice little âfuel gaugeâ on the package so that you know when the medication is fully dispensed. When it says âEmpty,â then you can take it off and dispose of it.â
âIf you are uncomfortable with using a needle yourself and donât want to have to go back to the doctorâs office the next day for an injection, this is a good option,â Chen says.
There are also shorter-acting G-CSF medications that need multiple injections between doses of chemotherapy.
âThose have mostly fallen out of favor with the availability of longer-acting medications that only require one shot,â Pappacena says. âBut some patients might have more severe side effects with the longer-acting agents, and for them we might try the shorter-acting drugs.â
The most common side effects of G-CSFs are usually bone and muscle pain and a mild fever. âUsually, these can be managed by taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or even an over-the-counter anti-allergy medication,â Chen says.
Chemo is strong medicine that doesnât just affect your cancer.
âChemotherapy works against cancer cells because it is designed to kill cells that are rapidly dividing, like cancer cells,â Chen says. âBut some of the healthy cells in your body also divide quickly, including white blood cells called neutrophils that are very important in the bodyâs defense against infection.â
When bacteria or viruses enter your body, âneutrophils are among the first cells to respond, quickly dividing to mount an immune response,â Chen says. âSo theyâre very vulnerable to medications that kill rapidly dividing cells.â
Just remember that itâs to be expected with chemo. âNeutropenia tends to follow a pretty typical pattern, and your doctor will know how to manage it,â Chen says.