“Why do I have to flush the toilet twice after chemotherapy?”
I just started to get chemo for my gallbladder cancer. But my doctor made it a point to say that I should always flush the toilet twice after treatment. I thought this was really weird. Why do I have to do this?
3 Answers
I don’t think there is a scientific reason for this request !
Hello. Your question involves activities that should be undertaken by a person who is receiving chemotherapy. Specifically, the question is why should a person flush the toilet twice after using a toilet.
Chemotherapy drugs are given either orally or intravenously. Each of these medications are treated by the body as any ingested medication or foodstuff. Ones body must dispose of the drug. Each type of drug, including chemotherapy, undergoes a specific type of metabolism designed to make that substance non-toxic to the rest of the body. Each of these metabolites must be excreted from the body. Some chemotherapeutic agents are excreted unchanged by the body and are present in wast materials, either urine or feces (excrement). These materials can be toxic for the patient or any other users of the toilets.
Your doctor is being quite cautious in instructing you to flush twice after chemotherapy administration. This should make it less likely that either you or another person can be exposed to drugs or metabolites present in your waste materials. The usual recommendation is to continue this practice for seven days following reception of chemotherapy.
A good reference on behavior following chemotherapy administration appears online. The reference is present following a search on “chemotherapy flushing toilets”. It is present on a “livebetterwith” website.
This article also has other recommendations to ensure safety.
Chemotherapy drugs are given either orally or intravenously. Each of these medications are treated by the body as any ingested medication or foodstuff. Ones body must dispose of the drug. Each type of drug, including chemotherapy, undergoes a specific type of metabolism designed to make that substance non-toxic to the rest of the body. Each of these metabolites must be excreted from the body. Some chemotherapeutic agents are excreted unchanged by the body and are present in wast materials, either urine or feces (excrement). These materials can be toxic for the patient or any other users of the toilets.
Your doctor is being quite cautious in instructing you to flush twice after chemotherapy administration. This should make it less likely that either you or another person can be exposed to drugs or metabolites present in your waste materials. The usual recommendation is to continue this practice for seven days following reception of chemotherapy.
A good reference on behavior following chemotherapy administration appears online. The reference is present following a search on “chemotherapy flushing toilets”. It is present on a “livebetterwith” website.
This article also has other recommendations to ensure safety.
It is to protect others since all bodily fluids are contaminated with chemotherapy for up to 7 days.
