Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients

Through a CDC Foundation partnership with Amgen, CDC has introduced two new educational resources - an interactive website for patients and their caregivers and an infection control and prevention plan for healthcare providers. Both are components of Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients, a comprehensive CDC-led program focused on providing information, action steps and tools for patients, their families and their healthcare providers to reduce the risk of developing potentially life-threatening infections during chemotherapy treatment.

The interactive website, called 3 Steps Toward Preventing Infections During Cancer Treatment, helps cancer patients assess their risk for developing a low white blood cell count, a condition called neutropenia, during chemotherapy. Neutropenia is a common and potentially dangerous side effect in patients receiving strong chemotherapy that can lead to a higher risk of infection.

The Basic Infection Control and Prevention Plan for Outpatient Oncology Settings provides specific guidelines on injection safety, hand hygiene, environmental disinfection and other related areas, and how they should be applied in outpatient settings where cancer patients receive chemotherapy and ongoing treatment.

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> CDC Podcast:

In the News

> Informed Patient: A New Push to Prevent Infections in Cancer Patients
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