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Hello! I am a pediatric oncology RN. I administer chemotherapy and take care of patients who are cytotoxic. When hanging chemotherapy I wear a gown, double glove, and face shield. I also handle bodily fluids such as urine, that is considered cytotoxic as chemotherapy is excreted in the urine. I’ve been trying to find data to see how much chemo is actually excreted in the urine, and now I’m wondering if there’s any risk inhaling chemotherapy via urine (there’s a risk of inhalation when dealing with direct chemo, but I am wondering about urine?) I am 7 weeks pregnant and nervous. Thank you for any info!
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Ajangel:
I would imagine that most chemotherapy in urine is probably inactive metabolites, but I'm certain this is not true for all anticancer drugs. Therefore, you should be cautious with skin contamination. I really doubt that any of these drugs dissolved in urine would be a hazard from "smelling" or inhaling, since they are dissolved in water and remember, they are GREATLY diluted as compared to the concentrated injections.
I'd suggest you just use as much caution as possible, and enjoy your pregnancy.
Tom Hale Ph.D.
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