Understanding chemotherapy - Macmillan Cancer

Understanding chemotherapyIt’s very important to:• read the labels on the boxes before you leave thehospital and if instructions are unclear, ask your nurse,doctor or pharmacist• take your drugs exactly as prescribed because not takingthem at the right times can affect how well treatment works• contact your nurse or doctor at the hospital immediatelyfor advice if you can’t take your medicines for any reasonor are sick after taking them.Chemotherapy by mouth can cause side effects, just likechemotherapy into a vein, and it’s important to know whatthey are. You also need to know how to store your drugssafely. You can read more about having chemotherapy athome on page 41.Injection into a muscle or skinSome chemotherapy drugs are given by injection into a muscle(intramuscular) of the leg or buttock. This might feel a bitpainful or uncomfortable for a short time.Some drugs are given by injection under the skin (subcutaneous)using a very fine needle.Injection into the spinal fluid (intrathecal)In some leukaemias, lymphomas or some brain tumours cancercells can pass into the fluid surrounding the brain and spinalcord (cerebrospinal fluid or CSF).38