HOW TO GET ORAL CHEMOTHERAPY SAFELY?

Follow your prescription exactly.

Take the right dose at the right time,

Keep a diary of your dosage times and taking notes on any side effects you may have,

Do not crush, cut or chew your pills, swallow them whole. If you have trouble swallowing medicine, be sure to tell your doctor or nurse,

Do NOT eat or drink grapefruit, or any other product with grapefruit in it,

Tell all doctors, treating you, including dentists, that you're taking oral chemotherapy,

Keep the medication in the original containers / boxes you got from the pharmacy,

Store the medication away from heat, sunlight or moisture. Follow the storage instructions exactly,

Always keep oral chemotherapy medicine away from children and pets,

Pregnant women, or women planning to be pregnant, should not handle these medications,

If chemotherapy gets on your skin, wash the area well with soap and water, and let your treatment team know about it as soon as possible,

If your eyes come into contact with chemotherapy, flush them right away with a large amount of warm water for at least 5 minutes and call your treatment team,

Caregivers must wear gloves at all times when handling oral chemo medicines, and throw away the gloves after each use. Need to wash hands before put on the gloves and after take them off, to ensure no medicine has gotten on your skin.

Chemotherapy leaves the body through urine, stool, vomit and blood. Due to:

• when you go to the bathroom, flush the toilet twice after you’re done, with the lid down,

• if possible, use a separate bathroom,

• wash your hands well with soap and water after using the toilet or cleaning up body fluids,

• clean bedpans, urinals, commodes or basins with soap and water, while wearing disposable gloves,

• wash any laundry with body fluids or chemotherapy on it with warm water and separately from other clothing and laundry.

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