I agree that cancer treatment can have a long term impact on your immune system. I was diagnosed in 2015 & since then my lymphocyte count has always run well below the normal range. My GP just keeps a watchful eye on it, in the absence of repeated infections, but it has never managed to return to normal levels. I am a nurse, so it did cross my mind when Covid-19 emerged, whether it was a good idea to put myself in the firing line, given that one of lymphocytes’ functions is to deal with viruses. Occupational health organised a blood test for me & miraculously the levels have returned to normal 5 years after chemo/Herceptin. Timing could not have been better. I’m telling you this so you know that the immune system can recover, even years later. I work in green hospital, so theoretically should not have had to care for Covid +ve patients. However all that colour coding went to pot during the peak & on a few days I spent my whole shift in isolation rooms looking after Covid positive patients who were coughing all over me. We cannot nurse people at a 6ft distance, so l was pretty close to the patients for a prolonged period & did not catch it. I was wearing a normal surgical mask, gloves & goggles. If your work wants you back, they should provide PPE given your medical history. I have to say the biggest risk is from other staff, when we have breaks etc when we are outside isolation rooms & not in PPE. The other think you could do is have a blood test &, if some of your white cells are also low, use that as a reason to register as vulnerable. Take care xx
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