A Patient's Guide to Long-Term Oral Cancer Treatment

A Patient's Guide to Long-Term Oral Cancer Treatment

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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 imatinib is taken every day for chronic myeloid leukaemia. That makes routine and supply just as important as the medicine itself.

Build a simple routine: take your tablet at the same time each day, use a weekly pill box, and set a phone reminder. If you miss a dose, follow your leaflet and never take two check here at once. Methotrexate is different: for arthritis and psoriasis it is taken once a week, not daily.

To read more about day-to-day life on treatment, this article walks through the essentials.

What you may notice: hot flushes, joint stiffness and tiredness are common with hormone tablets. Aromatase inhibitors can thin the bones, so many people have bone scans and advice on calcium and vitamin D. Tell your care team about chest pain, sudden breathlessness, leg swelling or unusual bleeding promptly.

Order ahead. Reorder when you still have two or three weeks of tablets left, so a delay never interrupts treatment. Generic tablets contain the same active ingredient as the brands and can make long-term treatment more affordable. A valid prescription is required for every order of a prescription medicine.

More detail is available in this guide.

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

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