Questions For Your Doctor on Chemotherapy Side Effects and Treatment
As a cancer patient, part of your fight against your disease is to take control of your cancer care. One way to do that is to keep your doctor informed about side effects from your chemo, including any symptoms of infection you may experience.
The questions below may help open communication between you and your doctor about your blood counts and risk of infection . These questions will help keep your doctor informed about your needs, allowing him or her to explore the best cancer treatment options for you. It may also help to print out these questions and take them with you on your next routine visit .
- What are blood counts?
- How can I keep track of my blood counts?
- Which people on chemo are most at risk for neutropenia and infections?
- Why does chemotherapy increase my risk of infection?
- What effect can a low white blood cell count or infection have on me?
- Is it important to get the full dose of chemotherapy on schedule?
- How can the risk of neutropenia complications be minimized?
- What is Neulasta®?
- Do I need Neulasta®?
- What are some of the side effects associated with Neulasta®?
- What else can I do to help protect against infection?
- What other resources offer information and support for chemo patients?
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In addition to consulting your doctor, you may wish to explore other ways of finding support and resources.
Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) is prescribed to reduce the risk of infection (initially marked by fever) in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy that decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells.
Important safety information
Ruptured spleen (including fatal cases) and a serious lung problem called acute respiratory distress syndrome have been reported. Call your doctor or seek emergency care right away if you have abdominal or shoulder tip pain, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, or a fast rate of breathing. In rare cases, serious allergic reactions can occur, causing shortness of breath, wheezing, dizziness, swelling around the mouth or eyes, fast pulse, sweating, and hives. Sometimes these symptoms could come back within days after stopping treatment for the allergic reaction. If you start to have any of these symptoms, call your doctor or seek emergency care right away. Sickle cell crises have also been reported.
In a clinical study, mild to moderate bone pain occurred in 31% of the patients taking Neulasta® and in 26% of the patients taking a placebo injection. In most cases, bone pain was controlled with a non-narcotic pain reliever, such as acetaminophen. Other common side effects reported by patients in the study taking either Neulasta® or placebo were consistent with the underlying cancer diagnosis and its treatment with chemotherapy, with the exception of bone pain.
If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
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Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) is prescribed to reduce the risk of infection (initially marked by fever) in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy that decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells.
Important safety information
Ruptured spleen (including fatal cases), a serious lung problem called acute respiratory distress syndrome, and serious allergic reactions have been reported. Call your doctor or seek emergency care right away if you have abdominal or shoulder tip pain, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, a fast rate of breathing, or any allergic reaction. The most common side effect of this injection is mild to moderate bone pain.
If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Important safety information
Ruptured spleen (including fatal cases), a serious lung problem called acute respiratory distress syndrome, and serious allergic reactions have been reported. Call your doctor or seek emergency care right away if you have abdominal or shoulder tip pain, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, a fast rate of breathing, or any allergic reaction. The most common side effect of this injection is mild to moderate bone pain.
If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
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