Cindy Marek
Cancer Survivor
When Cindy Marek was diagnosed with cancer, no one on her health-care team recommended influenza vaccination-not even as she underwent extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment.1
Vaccination is recommended for people with cancer, like Cindy, whose immune systems are weakened by the disease or by cancer treatment. Vaccination is also recommended for anyone whose immune system is weakened by other diseases such as HIV, and for persons receiving other types of long-term treatment with drugs, such as steroids.1
People with weak immune systems are vulnerable to the serious complications that come with influenza, because their bodies' defenses are usually not able to fight off all types of viruses, including influenza.1
Fortunately, Cindy never got influenza during chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Today, she can happily say she has beaten cancer and passed her five-year mark without recurrence. The fear, however, never really goes away.
“I don't know if anyone tells you this about cancer, but once you've finished treatment, any ache or pain is an immediate cause of fear.”
Oddly enough, influenza infection was to blame for her most recent scare. A friend surprised Cindy with a plane ticket to New York, and she was ecstatic about getting away and reclaiming her independence. However, on board the plane, she started to get sick.
“I was reluctant to go to the doctor, because I was so certain the cancer had come back and I wasn't ready to face it!” Days passed and she wasn't getting better. Cindy, who had not been immunized against influenza, went back to her doctor, who confirmed she had influenza.
Influenza immunization is important for Cindy's health. In fact, she's just reached the 50-year-old mark and falls under the immunization recommendation that all persons 50 years of age and older should get immunized each year.1