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

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

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A growing number of cancer treatments are now daily tablets. 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, keep a pill organiser, and set a phone reminder. If you miss a dose, follow your leaflet and never take two at once. Weekly methotrexate is the exception: for arthritis and psoriasis it is taken once a week, not daily.

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

What you may notice: hot flushes, joint stiffness and tiredness are common with hormone tablets. Aromatase inhibitors can reduce bone density, so many people have bone scans and regular check-ups. Report chest pain, sudden breathlessness, leg swelling or unusual bleeding promptly.

Plan your supply. 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 usually cost far less. A valid prescription is required for every order of a prescription medicine.

There is more information in this guide.

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

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