Symptom Management

Symptoms may be signs of a disease or may be a side effect of your cancer treatment. Treatments for cancer may cause a variety of side effects. Symptoms and side effects can make you feel different than you usually feel.

Side effects vary from person to person. They may also vary with each treatment, meaning you may have side effects after one treatment but not after another. Side effects may be more severe at one time than another. It's also possible that you may have no side effects from your treatment.

Many symptoms and side effects can be lessened or in some cases avoided altogether. It is important that you help to recognize new symptoms and/or side effects and bring them to the attention of your doctor and health care team. Your doctor and health care team will work with you to develop a plan to manage your symptoms and/or side effects.

A few things to keep in mind

• Not all new symptoms are cancer-related. For example, while pain in the bones may be related to your diagnosis, it may also be due to arthritis. Your doctor may need to do tests to evaluate the cause of new symptoms.
• Side effects vary from person to person. Whether or not you have side effects does not show how well your treatment is working. Side effects vary depending on the treatment and each individual's reaction to it.
• Your doctor, nurse and health care team will be the best source of advice for how to manage your symptoms and side effects.
• When you start a new treatment, be sure that you understand the potential side effects, what symptoms or side effects you should report immediately and what you can do to take care of yourself.

More information:

• Symptom Management Fact Sheets

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