When to Call Your Doctor

 


Developing any of the following symptoms during your chemotherapy treatment may indicate a serious condition. If you experience any of the following throughout your cancer treatment, please inform your doctor.

  • Fever higher than 100.5° F
  • Shaking chills
  • Vomiting that continues 48 hours after treatment
  • Unusual bleeding or bruising
  • Shortness of breath/chest pain
  • Severe constipation or diarrhea
  • Painful or frequent urination
  • Blood in the urine or stool
  • Soreness, redness, swelling, pus, or drainage at your catheter or port site or vein in which treatment was given
  • Irregular or rapid heart beat
  • Swelling in feet or lower legs
  • Increasing pain or pain in a new place
  • Pain that is not relieved by your pain medication
  • Headache that is not relieved by Tylenol (acetaminophen)
  • Inability to eat and continued weight loss
  • Mouth sores
  • Nasal congestion or drainage that is yellow or green, a productive cough with yellow or green drainage or coughing up blood
  • 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)
Latest Cancer News
ACOG Updates Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

November 20, 2009 — The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has revised its cervical cancer screening recommendations: the organization now recommends that women begin screening at the age of 21 and receive screening at less frequent intervals. These recommendations will be published in the December 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

New Velcade®-melphalan Transplant Regimen for Multiple Myeloma

November 20, 2009 — Researchers from France have reported encouraging results with adding Velcade® (bortezomib) to high-dose melphalan followed by autologus stem cell infusion for initial treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The details of this Phase II study appeared in an early online publication in Blood on November 2, 2009.

Folic Acid May Be Beneficial in Patients with Recurrent Colorectal Adenoma Who Are Folate Deficient

November 20, 2009 — Researchers affiliated with the Health Professional Follow-Up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study have reported that folic acid supplementation in patients with recurrent colorectal adenoma was not protective or harmful in most patients. However, patients who were folate deficient had a significant 39% decrease in adenoma recurrence. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication on October 28, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Select news items provided by Reuters Health