Hand Foot & Mouth

Hello

Both my mum and me have breast cancer. I have just finished chemotherapy but my mum’s is advanced and she is still under active treatment.

I have just had a note from my daughters school (Yr2) that they have a case of hand foot and mouth within the school.

How much should I worry about this? What are the chances of complications should it spread to my mum?

Many thanks

Laura

Hi, just wanted to say that my daughter is at nursery & we’ve had “the note” for this too last week (I find it mental that there is no exclusion policy for HFM, particularly for pre schoolers). I’m going thro chemo treatment at the moment so very worried about it actually - hopefully one of the nurses will be able to advise tomorrow

Hi Thetawave,

Thank you for posting.

It’s understandable that you’d like to know if you should worry about the risk of hand, foot and mouth disease for your Mum.

You don’t mention what kind of treatment your Mum is having for her breast cancer, but it sounds like she may be having chemotherapy. Having chemotherapy does increase the risk of developing infections, or becoming more unwell with an infection. As @sunshineandrainbows says, children aren’t advised to stay out of school if they have hand, foot and mouth disease, unless they feel unwell. If your daughter was to catch hand foot and mouth disease at school, your Mum may be advised to avoid contact with her for a period of time.

You, or your Mum, may find it helpful to contact her breast care nurse or treatment team. They will be best placed to advise on any precautions you can take, based on her individual situation.

We offer a range of supportive services for anyone affected by breast cancer which may be of interest to you or your Mum. You can find details about all of these services in the link.

Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to more support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000, If you have hearing or speech difficulties prefix our number with 18001 and the call will go through Relay UK. Our helpline has access to telephone interpreters if language translation is required.

If you would prefer one of our nurses to call you. To do this, please complete this form by ticking the box agreeing to a call back.

Our usual opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and 9am - 1pm on Saturday.

Out of hours you can leave a message and we will call you back when we next open.

Best wishes

Cassie

Breast Care Nurse

Please read the disclaimer Full details on how we collect and use your data can be found in our Privacy Policy

As we are unable to monitor for further replies, this thread will now be closed. If you have any additional questions or would like to provide feedback, please start a new thread, call our helpline, email us or request a call back.