When to Call Your Health Care Professional During Cancer Treatment
Development of any of the following symptoms during
your cancer treatment may indicate a serious condition.
If you experience any of the following at any time
in your cancer treatment, inform your healthcare
professional immediately (this is not an exhaustive list; your healthcare team will tell you when they want you to call):1-6
- Shortness of breath/chest pain (If you have extreme chest pain, call 911)
- Fever higher than 100.5°F
- Shaking chills
- Vomiting that continues 24 hours after treatment
- Bleeding or bruising
- Severe constipation or diarrhea
- Painful or frequent urination
- Blood in the urine or stool
- Extreme fatigue
- Soreness, redness, swelling, pus, or drainage at your catheter site
- Irregular or rapid heartbeat
- Pain in a new place or pain that is not relieved by your pain medication
- Headache that is not relieved by over the counter medications
- Inability to eat and continued weight loss
- Mouth sores
- Nasal congestion, drainage, cough
- Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
- One or more of the following symptoms in conjunction with repetitive diarrhea or vomiting (signs of dehydration):
- Dry, cracked lips
- Dry, sticky tongue
- Increased thirst
- Decreased urination
- Increased weakness
- Increased pulse rate
- Dizziness/lightheadedness (especially when rising to a standing position).
- If either you or your partner become pregnant.
Chemotherapy is not without risks or side effects. To help avoid delays in your cancer treatment, learn how to best manage chemotherapy side effects.
Keep a record of your chemotherapy side effects so you can discuss them with your doctor by using the Tools for Organizing Your Cancer Information.
Learn more about how you can best manage other types of chemotherapy side effects.
1. What are the possible side effects of chemotherapy? American Cancer Society website. Updated June 17, 2009. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_What
_Are_The_Side_Effects_of_Chemotherapy.asp?sitearea=ETO. Accessed June 4, 2010.
2. Chemotherapy and you. National Cancer Institute. Updated May 2007. NIH Publication No. 07—7156. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/chemotherapy—and—you.pdf. Accessed June 4, 2010.
3. Medline Plus medical encyclopedia—dehydration. National Institutes of Health website. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000982.htm. Accessed June 4, 2010.
4. Fluids and dehydration. American Cancer Society website. Updated April 27, 2009. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_2_3X_Fluids
_and_Dehydration.asp?sitearea=MBC. Accessed June 4, 2010.
5. Gastrointestinal complications (PDQ®)—health professional version. National Cancer Institute. Updated July 9, 2009. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/
gastrointestinalcomplications/HealthProfessional/page1. Accessed June 4, 2010.
6. Peripheral neuropathy caused by chemotherapy. American Cancer Society website. Updated August 8, 2008. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_2_3x_Peripheral
_Neuropathy_Caused_by_Chemotherapy.asp?sitearea=MBC. Accessed June 4, 2010.
Understanding Cancer –
Chemotherapy Side Effects –
Treating Cancer in Other Ways
Tracking Your Test Results –
Understanding Insurance and Tax Issues
Chemotherapy Resources and Organizations –
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