Hi Majella, wishing you lots of luck on Mond, I hope it all goes well!
Indeed, we do not want any infections while on chemo but the like my oncologist said there is not much we can do but use common sense, ie avoid sick people and crowds especially during nadir stage. However, what I have done is to make sure my skin is extra moisturised (MooGoo stuff is great) as dry and cracked skin gets infected easier, I use rubber gloves if/when in garden, cleaning, handling garbish (I delegated much of this to my hubby). Use hand sanitisers when out and about. Foodwise, I avoid raw eggs (e.g in desserts like tiramisu), raw seafood, and open salad bar type of foods and chicken when eating out (I tend to go for hot-cooked foods such as vegetarian pizza), and at home I avoid leftovers. Yes, with kids it can be a bit hard, my son has sneezed and coughed at my face, wiped his dirty hands over me etc... But can't blame him, it's tough to remember all the new rules.. But there's no need to panic about germs as it will just make life difficult, just try to lead normal life and boost your immune system with healthy foods, enough sleep/rest & exercise (I find my daily 30 min walks helpful). Besides exercise my other sources of endorphins include music, meditation, comedy shows with a bite of dark chocolate, playing silly games with my son etc.. Anything that makes you feel good and laugh will boost your immune system. Ask your oncologist about the preventative antibiotics too and Neulasta, I know the practices towards using them vary among oncologists, especially with Neulasta being so expensive, so they are not always automatically given.. The antibiotics are not recommended for long term use either.
Anyways, keep me posted how it all goes! Thinking of you on Mon! Annie :)