No. Cancer is not contagious, and neither is chemotherapy. Being near the person, hugging, sharing meals and living in the same home as someone having chemotherapy is safe for the people around them [1, 2]. For a few days after each dose, small amounts of the drug leave the body in urine, stool, vomit and other body fluids, so a few simple precautions are advised, such as closing the toilet lid before flushing, wearing gloves to clean up body fluids and using condoms during sex [2, 3].
Key points
- Chemotherapy and cancer are not contagious. Being near the person, hugging, sharing meals and living in the same home is safe for the people around them [1, 2].
- The precautions are only about body fluids: for a few days after each dose, small amounts of the drug are in urine, stool, vomit, sweat, blood and sexual fluids. They are usually advised for 2 days (48 hours), but how long depends on the drug, and the treatment team will tell you [2, 3].
- A few simple steps are enough: close the toilet lid before flushing, wash your hands, wear gloves to clean up body fluids, wash soiled clothes and bedding separately and use condoms during sex [2, 3].
- If someone in the family is pregnant, being near the person is fine; it is just better if someone else cleans up body fluids and handles chemotherapy tablets during these few days [2, 7].
- Standard radiotherapy (from a machine, outside the body) does not make anyone radioactive, and being near the person is safe, even for babies and pregnant women. Only radioactive iodine, other radioactive medicines and radiation sources placed inside the body need short, specific precautions [8, 9, 10, 11].
- The bigger risk runs the other way: people having chemotherapy catch infections more easily; if you have a cold, keep your distance, and keep your own vaccinations up to date [2, 12].
Is chemotherapy contagious?
No. Chemotherapy is a medicine, not a germ, and it cannot be caught from the person receiving it. Cancer itself is not contagious either, and it does not pass to others through touch, caring for someone or living with them [1].
So you can hug the person, sit next to them, eat with them and live in the same home. Couples are even encouraged to stay close during this time by hugging and cuddling [2].
The only point is that, in the days after each dose, the body gradually gets rid of the chemotherapy drug in urine, stool and other fluids [2]. The precautions on this page are only about these fluids, not about the person. Read more: Is cancer contagious?
How long does chemo stay in your body?
The precautions are usually advised for 2 days (48 hours) after each dose [3]. The exact length depends on the drug and on the policy of the treatment centre and may differ; your treatment team will tell you [2].
Studies show why these precautions are useful:
- In a study in Germany, drug residues were found on surfaces in the toilets, bathrooms and kitchens of 13 patients' homes, with the most on toilet and bathroom surfaces. The drug was often found in patients' urine for more than 2 days, but none was found in the urine of family members [4].
- In a small study in Japan, the drug cyclophosphamide was found in the urine of most patients for more than 2 days, and for up to 5 days. Very small amounts of the drug were also found in the urine of 5 of 10 family members [5].
The researchers of both studies concluded that families should know and follow simple precautions [4, 5]. These precautions are in the next section.
Simple precautions at home in the first days after each dose
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The toilet
The person having treatment should sit down to urinate. Close the toilet lid and flush twice. Clean any splashes on the toilet with bleach wipes [2]. If your home has two toilets, it is better for the person to use one of them during these days [3]. If the toilet has no lid, flush or pour water gently and from close by so that it does not splash.
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Hand washing
The person having treatment should wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet. Others should also wash their hands after any contact with body fluids and after taking off gloves [2].
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Chemotherapy tablets at home
Keep the tablets in their own container and out of the reach of children [6]. Whoever gives the tablets to the person should ideally wear gloves [3, 6]. Do not crush tablets or open capsules unless the treatment team has told you to; doing so increases contact with the drug [3]. Ask the treatment team or pharmacy how to dispose of any leftover tablets [6].
Ask your treatment team: "With my drugs, how many days after each dose do we need these precautions?" Write down the answer and put it where everyone in the family can see it [2].
Can chemo patients be around babies and children?
Being with babies and children, holding them and playing with them is safe; chemotherapy does not reach a child through ordinary contact, and the precautions are only about body fluids [1, 2]. In the first days after each dose:
- Children should not touch the person's body fluids, such as vomit or adult incontinence pads; an adult wearing gloves should clean them up [2, 3].
- Keep chemotherapy tablets out of children's reach and sight [6].
- The person having treatment should wash their hands well after using the toilet [2].
The other way round: people having chemotherapy catch infections more easily [2]. Children and other family members can have their routine vaccines, including the measles and chickenpox vaccines, and this also protects the person having treatment [12]. One important exception: the oral polio vaccine (drops) is a live vaccine and is not recommended for anyone who lives with the person having treatment [12]; before a child is vaccinated, tell the doctor or vaccination clinic that someone at home is having chemotherapy. Two smaller points: if a baby has had the oral rotavirus vaccine drops, the person having treatment should not change the baby's nappies for 2 weeks and should wash their hands often; if a rash appears after the chickenpox vaccine, keep it covered and avoid skin-to-skin contact with the person until it has healed [12].
If a child has a cold or a fever, the person having treatment should keep a little distance and everyone should wash their hands; read more: Low blood counts and preventing infection. If the person having treatment gets a fever, see Fever and warning signs during chemotherapy. For talking with children about the illness, see How do I talk to my children about my cancer?
Is it safe to be around someone on chemo when you are pregnant?
A pregnant woman can be with the person, talk and eat with them and hug them; ordinary contact is safe, and the precautions are only about body fluids and the medicines themselves [1, 2].
Chemotherapy drugs may harm an unborn baby. In healthcare workers who work with these drugs for a long time, infertility, miscarriage and birth defects have been reported more often, and they are advised to avoid contact with these drugs as much as possible during pregnancy [7]. So at home, too, in the first days after each dose it is better that:
- someone else cleans up the person's urine, stool and vomit and washes their soiled clothes [3, 7];
- a pregnant woman does not touch chemotherapy tablets or capsules [6, 7];
- if there is no other option, she wears gloves and washes her hands afterwards [2].
The same points are also useful for anyone who is trying to get pregnant or is breastfeeding [3, 7].
Partners: sex and contraception
Most people can have sex during chemotherapy, but it is a good idea to ask your doctor [2]. In the first days after each dose, use condoms so that your partner is not in contact with sexual fluids [2].
Prevent pregnancy during treatment, because chemotherapy can harm an unborn baby. This applies both to a woman having treatment and to the partner of a man having treatment, because chemotherapy can damage sperm [2]. Read more: Can I get pregnant after chemotherapy? and Fertility and sex during cancer treatment.
Does radiation make you radioactive?
| Type of radiotherapy | For the people around you |
|---|---|
| Standard radiotherapy from a machine, outside the body | Does not make the person radioactive. Being near them is safe, even for pregnant women, babies and young children [8] |
| Temporary radiation source inside the body | While the radiation source is in the body, visits may need to be short, and pregnant women and children under one year old may not be allowed to visit. Once it is removed, no radiation is left in the body [9] |
| Permanent radiation source inside the body (small seeds) | The radiation gets weaker every day. In the first days, limit time close to other people and take particular care not to spend time with children or pregnant women; the treatment team will tell you for how long [9] |
| Radioactive iodine and radioactive medicines given by mouth or injection | For a while, the person's urine, sweat and saliva give off radiation [10]. The nuclear medicine team tells each person, depending on the dose, how many hours or days of which precautions are needed at home and outside [11] |
With standard radiotherapy, which most people have, no precautions are needed for the people around them [8].
For the side effects for the person having treatment, see What is radiotherapy and what are its side effects? For radioactive iodine in thyroid cancer, see the radioactive iodine section.
Frequently asked questions
Can you kiss someone on chemo?
Can we sleep in the same bed?
Do the person's dishes and food need to be kept separate?
What should I do if a chemotherapy tablet falls on the floor or breaks?
Pick it up while wearing gloves, then wash your hands and ask the treatment team or pharmacy how to dispose of it [6]. Do not let a child or pet touch it.
We want to have a baby; is caring for the person a problem?
Being with the person is not a problem. In the first days after each dose, just limit contact with body fluids and tablets or wear gloves, as described for pregnant women [3, 7]. If the person having treatment is your partner, prevent pregnancy until treatment ends and ask the doctor about the right time [2].
I have had radioactive iodine; when can I hold my child?
This depends on the dose. The nuclear medicine team will tell you for how many hours or days, and from whom, you need to keep your distance; follow those instructions [11].
I have had standard radiotherapy; can I hold my grandchild?
Yes. Radiotherapy from outside the body does not make you radioactive, and being near babies, children and pregnant women is safe [8].
Notes for doctors (for physicians)
For physicians
Böhlandt 2017 (Int J Hyg Environ Health). 265 wipe samples from surfaces in 13 homes (toilet, bathroom, kitchen) at two time points after chemotherapy, and 62 urine samples from patients and family members on three days. Surface contamination: platinum 0.02 to 42.5, fluorouracil up to 98.3 and cyclophosphamide up to 283.3 pg/cm2, highest on toilet and bathroom surfaces. Patients' urinary drug concentrations were often elevated for more than 48 hours, but no drug residues were detectable in family members' urine [4].
Yuki 2015 (Oncol Nurs Forum). 8 outpatients receiving cyclophosphamide, 10 cohabiting family members and 10 controls, with urine collected over 7 days. Cyclophosphamide was detected in 112 of 276 patient urine samples, and the last positive sample was collected after more than 48 hours in 63% of patients (maximum 5 days). It was detected in 5 family members (17 to 252 ng per member) and in no controls [5].
NIOSH 2023 (home healthcare). Basic education of patients and families; gloves for patient care and for handling laundry or cleaning toilets; close the lid before flushing after each use by the patient for 48 hours after chemotherapy, and a separate bathroom if available; double washing of linens separately from other laundry. Some hazardous drugs may pass into semen, and crushing tablets or opening capsules increases exposure [3]. The NCI states that the duration of these precautions depends on the drug and on institutional policy [2]. Occupational exposure has been associated with infertility, miscarriage and birth defects, and NIOSH advises limiting exposure, particularly during pregnancy [7].
Vaccinating household contacts (ASCO 2024). All household members and close contacts should, where feasible, be up to date on vaccinations (recommendation 4.0; moderate evidence, strong recommendation). All ACIP-recommended vaccines for adults and children, including MMR and varicella, are safe for household contacts of patients receiving cancer treatment, except live attenuated influenza vaccine in close contacts of HSCT recipients; citing the IDSA guideline, oral polio vaccine is not recommended for household contacts of immunocompromised patients. After rotavirus vaccine: hand hygiene and avoiding nappy changes for up to 2 weeks after the last dose; a rash after varicella vaccine should be covered and intimate skin-to-skin contact avoided until healed [12].
Radiation. External beam radiotherapy does not make the patient radioactive [8]; with temporary brachytherapy no radiation remains once the source is removed, and with permanent implants limiting contact, especially with children and pregnant women, is advised at first [9]. After iodine-131 therapy, the duration of precautions (hours or days) is set for each patient according to the administered activity and individual circumstances, and patients and caregivers are instructed accordingly (ATA 2011) [11].
References
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Numbers in the text, such as [1], refer to these sources. Sources with a “Study card” button are summarised in the site’s evidence library.
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This page is based on reputable scientific sources and was last updated on 28 October 2026. The content of this website is for educational and informational purposes only and does not replace consultation, diagnosis or treatment by a specialist physician. Consult your treating physician about any treatment decision.
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