In the healthiest of situations, prevention is the best way to keep your immune system strong. But now, with a child with cancer and the associated suppressed immune system, you have to take extra caution around your home to keep the germs from flying and causing added illness. It's an annoyance to healthy people to catch a cold, it could be dire to a child with cancer.

  • First and foremost, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. If you were able to put a dye on your hands to record where they go, your face—eyes, nose, mouth—would look like a Kool-Aid®-stained mess. The average person touches their mouth and nose 1-3 times every 5 minutes which allows bacteria and viruses to pass rom the hands to portals of entry into the body. Wash your hands.

      But there's more to know—don't just run them under the tap water for a few minutes; all you accomplish there is to move the germs and bacteria around. WASH them. A good twenty seconds is recommended. How about coming up with a little musical ditty for your kids to sing to keep them there long enough? ("Happy Birthday To You" lasts about 20 seconds).

      Consider getting rid of hand towels—which harbor germs—and replacing with paper towels; buy in bulk at the discount stores.

      Carry one of the "waterless" hand washing gels around with you (e.g., Purell®). Use it as recommended every time you think of it, every time you shake a hand, every time you handle money, every time your hands come in contact with things that other people's hands (which have also been all over their face—and who knows where else—) have touched.

Since my 7 year old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in November of 2000, we have become "germ freaks." We have three other younger children. To ensure they wash their hands the proper amount of time, they sing the ABC's song. This way they are learning while they are washing and it lasts about 26 seconds.

Alison Haddock

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