Staying on Track With Daily Cancer Medicines

Staying on Track With Daily Cancer Medicines

Blog Article

Many cancer treatments are now taken by mouth at home. Tamoxifen, letrozole and anastrozole are often taken for five years or more after breast cancer, and generic imatinib is taken every day for chronic myeloid leukaemia. That makes routine and supply just as important as the medicine itself.

Small habits help: take your tablet at get more info the same time each day, use a weekly pill box, and set an alarm. If you miss a dose, check the patient leaflet and never take two at once. Weekly methotrexate is the exception: for arthritis and psoriasis it is taken once a week, not daily.

To read more about day-to-day life on treatment, this article explains what to expect in the first months.

Side effects to watch: hot flushes, joint stiffness and tiredness are common with hormone tablets. Letrozole and anastrozole can thin the bones, so many people have bone scans and regular check-ups. Report chest pain, sudden breathlessness, leg swelling or unusual bleeding straight away.

Order ahead. Reorder when you still have two or three weeks of tablets left, so a delay never causes a gap. Generic versions contain the same active ingredient as the brands and usually cost far less. A valid prescription is required for every order of a prescription medicine.

More detail is available in this article.

This article is for general information only. Always check with your oncology team before making any change.

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