“Are fever, cold and cough normal during cancer treatment?”
My wife is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. But, she keeps falling sick with a fever, cold and cough. Is this normal?
3 Answers
Hello. Fever cold and cough are not normal during cancer treatment. It is important to make sure that these are not side effects of treatment or another illness that is developing during the cancer treatment. Cancer treatment can cause decreases in the white cells or infection fighting cells. It is important to tell your doctor about these symptoms do that other causes can be eliminated.
Cancer treatment by itself does not cause fever. However, chemotherapy can make you more susceptible to infections and fever. Therefore, if one has persistent cough and fever during treatments, infection, especially respiratory infection should be ruled out.
No this is not normal if she is able to keep her blood counts up. Often the medical oncologist will give a patient neulasta to increase her WBC and help her fight infections.
