I'm currently taking lupron for advanced prostate cancer. Is it ok to get an mmr and a tdap vaccine shot?

[GeorgeGlass]

My white blood cell count is lower than normal but my general health is good.

[Tall_Allen]

Live vaccines should not be given to severely immunocompromised patients. Your PCP can judge the severity of your immune deficiency.

[GeorgeGlass in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks Alex. My pass is currently near zero and I go to the gym daily and eat healthy. I think my immune system is pretty good other than the low white blood cell count. I've always had low white blood cell count but it's a little lower now than it used to be. Two doctors told me I should be ok to get those vaccines. I still worry a little though because I want my immune system to be working on the cancer and not other vaccines.

[Caring7 in reply to GeorgeGlass]

Of course the doctor is the main person to help you with this, but I know my husband received MMR, T-Dap, Pneumovax, and Hep-B. Because of a trip to China, he also got Hep-A and Typhoid (dead virus). I think if you are healthy it's probably a good time to get these so that you have more defenses for anything that might come at you. To my understanding, your immune system is not really fighting the cancer like it would a virus -- unless you get Provenge/Immunotherapy. Around that time, it might be of some concern.

My husband was diagnosed at 52, pretty healthy, but also always has a low white count (slightly). He got all the first ones before he started chemo about 4 months in. Check on the timing with your oncologist and PCP for your specific case. You might also talk about your family members being up-to-date vaccinated.

[GeorgeGlass in reply to Caring7]

thank you Caring, I appreciate your info. I'll confirm with the doc this week. Take care and good luck going forward!!!

George