For the first few months while your immune system is returning to normal, it is important to try to eat a healthy and balanced diet and avoid possible risks of infection from food.

This means eating freshly cooked food and avoiding reheated food. It is best to avoid:

• fast food
• takeaways
• cream cakes
• any food that is not completely fresh.

Make sure that frozen foods are completely defrosted before cooking, and wash salads and fruit thoroughly before eating. Avoid soft cheeses, live yoghurt and dishes containing uncooked or lightly cooked eggs.

Once your blood count is back to normal, you can usually eat what you like. Your doctor or nurse will give you advice about this.

It is fine to drink a small amount of alcohol, but heavy drinking will slow down the recovery of the bone marrow, and increase the risks of bleeding (especially if your platelet count is low). Alcohol can also interfere with some of the drugs that you may be prescribed.

To reduce the risk of infection, it is best to avoid crowded places such as cinemas, pubs, and public transport, until your white blood cells are well within the normal range. Your doctor can tell you what your blood count is.

By 3–6 months after your treatment you should be able to take up a full social life again. However, avoid contact with children who have an infectious disease such as chickenpox or measles.

When your blood count has gone back towards normal, you could discuss with your doctor whether it would be advisable to go back to work, school or college. Ideally, take it gradually, by going only part-time to begin with. It is a good idea to discuss this with your employer, teacher or tutor. They can help you to work out a satisfactory way of going back to your work or education in stages. You might also want to discuss whether you would like them to talk to your colleagues or fellow students about your illness and treatment before you return. If so, check whether you feel comfortable about the way they plan to do this.

Our section, Work and cancer, gives information about employment rights, disability rights and financial issues for people with cancer. There is information about education, and going back after a transplant, on our website for teenagers and young people – www.click4tic.org.uk

Regular gentle walking is good exercise to keep your muscles reasonably toned until your platelet count has gone back to normal. After this, you can start doing whatever exercise you like, although it is wise to gradually build up the amount of exercise that you take.

After an allogeneic (donor) transplant you will lose your immunity to any illnesses you were vaccinated against as a child. After about a year, your doctor will discuss your immunity and when would be the best time to revaccinate you against diseases such as measles, mumps and polio.

If you have had high-dose treatment with stem cell support, your immunity will recover within a few months and you will not need to have your vaccinations again.

For the first 3–6 months after the transplant or high-dose treatment, you will still have to go back to the hospital regularly and may need blood transfusions.

As your blood counts improve, and the gap between hospital visits gets longer, you can discuss your holiday plans with your doctors. If you have had high-dose treatment with stem cell support there should be few restrictions on travel once your blood count has recovered. Ask your doctor for advice on travel and discuss any vaccinations needed. People who have had cancer often find it difficult to get travel insurance – we have a list of insurance companies that have specific policies for people who have, or have had, cancer.

We have a section which has helpful tips about travel for people who have cancer.

After a transplant you will normally be advised not to travel abroad in the first year unless there is a nearby cancer treatment centre. Your doctors can arrange to send details of your recent treatment.

It is important to avoid sunburn in the first two years after your treatment, as it can trigger graft-versus-host reactions. Always wear a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and a high-factor suncream (SPF30 or higher) when you are exposed to the sun.

After the first year, when your immune system should be working well, you should be able to travel freely. However, certain types of vaccination should be avoided. Again, discuss your plans with your transplant doctors. They may be able to suggest medical centres that could cope with complications, if they arise.

It is usually helpful to carry with you a short letter from your doctor, outlining the treatment you have had and giving a contact telephone number.

Your physical ability to have sex will not be affected by your treatment, and there is no medical reason why you cannot go back to your normal sex life when you leave hospital. You may find, however, that your sex drive is reduced for some months. This may be a result of the treatment itself, or perhaps because anxiety about the future makes it hard for you to feel enthusiastic about sex. Sometimes changes in your appearance, such as weight loss or hair loss due to the treatment, can make you feel uneasy about your body.

Women whose treatment has caused an early menopause may get menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, dry skin, dryness of the vagina, and a low sex drive. Most women can be helped by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which can quickly help to relieve many of these effects. If your doctor has not already talked to you about HRT, it might be worthwhile asking them about it, to see whether it would be suitable for you.

You need not feel embarrassed about asking for professional advice if you are having sexual problems. Your doctor or social worker may be able to help you directly, or can refer you for specialist counselling if you think that would be helpful.

See our section on Sexuality and cancer for more information.

In most cases, the high-dose treatment will make women’s periods stop, and will stop men producing sperm. Fertility is a very important part of many people's lives, and not being able to have children can seem especially hard when you are also having to cope with cancer. Many people are devastated when they discover that the treatment they need will mean they cannot have children.

Loss of fertility can take a long time to come to terms with. Allow yourself time to adjust to it and to express your sadness that a part of your life and a function of your body have been lost. When you feel ready, talking with your partner, family or a close friend may help you to cope.

Some people find it helpful to talk through their feelings with a trained counsellor. The nurses on our cancer information and support service can let you know about counselling services in your area.

Men

It may be possible for men to store sperm before they have the treatment, so that it can be used later if they want to have a family. The hospital may charge a fee to store sperm. You will need to discuss this at the hospital where you have your treatment. Parents of teenage boys should also be aware of this so that, where possible, sperm can be stored for later years.

Women

It may be possible to store fertilised eggs (embryos), with the chance of re-implanting them into the womb later. It may also be possible to store unfertilised eggs, although the success rate when using these is much lower than using embryos. To do either of these, the cancer needs to be at a stage where the treatment can be delayed for several weeks while the eggs are collected and fertilised.

It may be possible for women to have a piece of tissue from their ovaries removed before they have the treatment. It is not yet possible to achieve a pregnancy from this type of sample, but the ovarian tissue can be stored, in the hope that it will be possible to use it in the future. Only a few hospitals in the UK are able to store samples in this way. This research is still at an early, experimental stage and is not widely available. Your doctor or specialist nurse can discuss this with you.

See our section on Fertility and cancer for more information.