><< A friend of mine is going through chemotherepy and radiation therepy and
> her doctor told her that she had to get ride of her cat and dog becouse of
> her treatment. He said that she would emit radiation through her body and
> that would eventualy kill the pets. I have never heard of this before. Is
> it true?
If a patient is undergoing brachytherapy, they will have radioactive implants
in their body...and they will be kept in some isolation in the hospital. The
radiation leaves their body as soon as the radioactive sources are removed...or
depending on the radiation sources, they decay below a certain radiation level.
They would be a health risk if they were let out of isolation (which usually
lasts for a few hours at most).
On occasion, radioactive substances are used for diagnostic purposes (e.g.bone
scan) and the radioactive waste is excreted in the urine...which needs to be
collected in appropriate radioactive waste containers.
The patient IS NOT radioactive after receiving external beam radiation therapy.
The business about having cats during chemotherapy. This has more to do with
changing the kitty litter....have SOMEONE ELSE do it and if you must do it
yourself, change it every 24hours. Why? Because many cats carry a parasite
called toxoplasmosis...which can be dangerous for immunocompromised patients
(because of chemo) and pregnant women.
As for dogs....no problems...
--
E. Loren Buhle, Jr., Ph.D INTERNET: BUHLEL01@MCRCR6.MED.NYU.EDU
*** The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the views or
*** opinions of my employer or this resource! Phone: 610-622-4293
P.O. Box 7806 Philadelphia, PA 19101 FAX: 610-622-1343
