“Three tips to help make your cancer treatment more effective.”
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, we suggest that you discuss these three
tips with your doctor. They may help minimize the side effects of treatment and
help you have a more successful outcome.
ONE: Double-check your dosing
When used properly, chemotherapy medication kills cancer cells with minimal harm
to normal cells. But here’s the tricky part: Too much chemotherapy can make
you sick. Too little, and your cancer will continue to grow. Dosage for many chemotherapy
drugs is based on your height and weight. To be sure you get the correct dose, make
sure your doctors and pharmacist know your correct height and weight measurements.
TWO: Manage pain aggressively
Pain and nausea are among the unfortunate side effects of cancer and its treatments.
But there’s good news: There’s a range of medications that can help.
If you’re feeling the side effects of cancer and/or your treatment, don’t
be afraid to ask your doctor to manage your pain more aggressively.
THREE: Follow through with your treatment as directed
There’s a wide variety of treatments for cancer. But even the best treatment
won’t be as effective if you don’t follow through with it as directed.
For example, some medications that are used to help prevent breast cancer from coming
back must be taken for 5 years. At Medco, we know of women who have discontinued
their treatment early. As a result, they haven’t received the full preventative
benefit of the treatment.
Important new study
Many women who take tamoxifen for breast cancer don’t respond to it. That’s
why Medco is undertaking a new study to determine whether a genetic test can be
used to tell whether a patient will respond to this medication. Such a test could
save precious time for breast cancer patients who don’t respond to tamoxifen
and who might require an alternative medication.
If your prescription program is managed by Medco and we notice a safety issue with
your medication, an Oncology Pharmacist will work with your doctor to help make
sure that you’re getting the most effective treatment. |
