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@loribmt

Hi @sueinma. Welcome to Connect. Anytime we have a condition where our immune system isn’t functioning at 100% we are susceptible to illness. Having a blood cancer such as lymphoma affects your immune system directly. You may have a more difficult time with recovery from an illness or may find you get ill more frequently. It’s important to make sure you stay up to date with all immunizations.

Being immunocompormised, you’ll want to take similar precautions that you learned with Covid protocol with using N-95 or KN-95 masks in public or if you have guests in your home who are ill. You’ll definitely want to wear them on planes, in airports, church, theaters, elevators, etc., where there are groups of people in an enclosed, not well-ventilated area. Covid is obviously still a concern. But also other diseases/illnesses such as flu, RSV, measles and the like. Also things to avoid are areas of possible contamination for foods such as buffets, salad bars, artisan cheeses that aren’t pasteurized. You don’t have to live in fear. Just be educated and don’t take chances.
I’m 5 years post AML/bone barrow transplant. Even though I’m perfectly healthy with no cancer, I still need to wear masks, use hand sanitizer and we don’t go out to dinner unless we can eat outdoors.
Here’s a quick tutorial from Healthline.com
https://www.healthline.com/health/staying-healthy-while-immunocompromised

Do you wear a mask in public places?

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Replies to "Hi @sueinma. Welcome to Connect. Anytime we have a condition where our immune system isn’t functioning..."

Thank you Lori for your thorough response. Yes, even before my diagnosis I went back to wearing masks in crowded public indoor places like supermarkets. Now I am wondering how much I should be masking in general when indoors, like when I am visiting with grandnieces who appear to be healthy, or at my new job when I will be in an office, sometimes with one other person for periods of time. I would hate to have to always be separated by others by masks for the rest of my life.
I also wonder about how this changes over the length of time it has been after a dose of rituximab since that med definitely increases or degree of compromise.