Chemotherapy and You is written for you - someone who is about to receive or is now receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Your family, friends, and others close to you may also want to read this book.

This book is a guide you can refer to throughout your chemotherapy treatment. It includes facts about chemotherapy and its side effects and also highlights ways you can care for yourself before, during, and after treatment.

This book covers:

• Questions and answers about chemotherapy ¹. Answers common questions, such as what chemotherapy is and how it affects cancer cells.
• Side effects and ways to manage them ². Explains side effects and other problems that may result from chemotherapy. This section also has ways that you and your doctor or nurse can manage these side effects.
• Tips for meeting with your doctor or nurse ³. Includes questions for you to think about and discuss with your doctor, nurse, and others involved in your cancer care.
• Ways to learn more ⁴. Lists ways to get more information about chemotherapy and other topics discussed in this book - in print, online, and by telephone.
• Words to know ⁵. A dictionary that clearly explains all the words that are in bold in this book.

Talk with your doctor or nurse about what you can expect during chemotherapy. He or she may suggest that you read certain sections of this book or try some of the ways to manage side effects.

Product or brand names that appear in this book are for example only. The U.S. Government does not endorse any specific product or brand. If products or brands are not mentioned, it does not mean or imply that they are not satisfactory.

Glossary Terms

Treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells.

A problem that occurs when treatment affects healthy tissues or organs. Some common side effects of cancer treatment are fatigue, pain, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss, and mouth sores.