The Medicines You Go Home With — After Chemotherapy

Dexamethasone is used here as an anti-nausea medicine and to reduce the risk of allergic reactions to the infusion — not as a cancer treatment. This is standard practice in chemotherapy care across NCCN and ASCO guidelines. The dose is short and supervised. If you have concerns about taking a steroid, raise them with your oncologist rather than stopping it without asking.

Call your team the same day. If you vomit shortly after taking a tablet, you may not have absorbed it, and your team needs to know. There are anti-nausea medicines that work in other ways — some dissolve under the tongue, some can be given as injections. Being unable to swallow tablets is a problem your team can solve, but only if you tell them.

Some medicines interact with chemotherapy or with the supportive tablets in your bag. Paracetamol is often used alongside chemotherapy, but your team should confirm it is right for your specific regimen. If you take regular medicines for blood pressure, diabetes, or any other condition, confirm at each cycle whether to continue them. Do not assume a medicine is safe because it was safe before chemotherapy started.

Your team adjusts supportive medicines based on how you responded to the previous cycle. If nausea was severe, an additional medicine may be added. If one tablet caused a problem, it may be swapped. This is normal and reflects your team responding to your experience. If you are unsure why a change was made, ask at the start of your next infusion.

Call your team today rather than waiting for your next scheduled visit. Tell them how many times you have vomited, whether you can keep fluids down, and which medicines you have taken. Poor nausea control that stops you drinking can lead to dehydration quickly. What you were given at discharge is a starting point — there are additional options, and the prescription can be changed.

No. Filgrastim and similar injections are prescribed only when the chemotherapy regimen carries a meaningful risk of dangerously low white blood cell counts. Whether you need it depends on the specific drugs in your regimen and your blood results. If you are unsure whether you were supposed to receive it, call the centre rather than purchasing it without a prescription.

Tell your oncology team about everything you are taking, including Ayurvedic preparations, herbal supplements, and homeopathic medicines. Some herbs and plant-based preparations interact with chemotherapy in ways that affect how the drug works in your body. Your team will not discourage a practice that matters to you, but they need to know what you are taking to keep you safe.

Check the instructions your team gave you — the right answer depends on which medicine you missed and how much time has passed. For anti-nausea medicines especially, timing matters, and doubling up on the next dose is not advisable without asking. If nausea is already starting and you cannot reach your team, call the centre helpline rather than guessing.