Recommending financial resources. There are a number of financial aid organizations and patient assistance programs available to help patients with their out-of-pocket expenses.
Your pharmacist can be a good source of information about these resources. Taking your medication on schedule is known as adherence. Adherence is key to getting the best result possible from your treatment. This is especially important if you are taking a pill for your cancer treatment. This means you are responsible for remembering to take your medicine as prescribed and on schedule.
How does adherence affect the results of your cancer treatment? If you are taking pills or administering self-injections, how you take or administer these medicines is important. These types of medicines release the active ingredient over a set period of time to keep a steady amount of medicine in the body. On the other hand, if you take doses too close together you may get too much of the medicine in your body. This extra medicine can lead to more side effects, which could be dangerous.
It is also important to take medicines prescribed for side effects as directed. This will ensure that the medicines are working their best to help with the symptoms they were prescribed for.
How Your Pharmacist Can Help Regardless of the type of medicine that a doctor prescribes, pharmacists help by: Explaining how the medication works. Questions to Ask Your Pharmacist What is this medication called? How does this medication work? How should I take this medication? What should I do if I miss a dose? What time of the day should I take this medication? Patients on these phase I trials are among the most courageous in our cancer center and are helping us to understand how effective new drugs are today and for future patients.
SL: I find identifying medication changes that can help patients feel their best while receiving their chemotherapy the most rewarding. As an oncology pharmacist, I am in a position to do this every day.
Q: Do you have any tips to help patients and their caregivers better communicate with their pharmacist s? RDH: Ask, ask, ask! Patients who are curious and talk about their experiences while taking cancer drugs are those who have the best outcomes. Let your pharmacist s know about all medicines you are taking, and any new or worsening side effects you may be having. Often, it is something easy to fix, but it may also require discussions with physicians or other health care providers.
As we use more and more oral medications for cancer treatment, the role of the pharmacist and exchanging information will become more critical. BC: Having a list of current medications a patient is taking is extremely helpful. Since oral cancer medications can have serious interactions with other drugs, we need to know all other medications a patient is taking. Also, oral cancer medications may be given as part of a treatment plan that could include radiation therapy or additional medications.
Providing the oncology pharmacist with the entire treatment plan, including start dates, is very helpful to ensure we send the oral cancer medication at the right time. Finally, keeping a journal of side effects can help facilitate discussions with the oncology pharmacist, as well as other members of the health care team. JV: I think it is important that patients share with their oncology pharmacist all the medications they are taking or plan to take. These medications and supplements can carry their own possible side effects and drug interactions, which could impact the patient or the other medications a patient is taking.
Pharmacists truly want to help the patient and family understand why they are taking each medication and how often each medication is supposed to be taken. If you are interested in learning more about the role of oncology pharmacists, check back later this week for a podcast with R.
Donald Harvey and John Valgus. Share your thoughts on this blog post on Cancer. Net's Facebook and Twitter. The Cancer.
Net Podcasts Tags About Us. June 10, To learn more about the evolving role pharmacists play in providing high-quality cancer care, we gathered a group of oncology pharmacy experts: Beth Chen, PharmD, BCOP , an oncology clinical specialist at Biologics where she is primarily involved with caring for patients who are receiving oral medications for the treatment of cancer R.
Q: What are some of the most important jobs or tasks you do as an oncology pharmacist? Q: How has the role of the oncology pharmacist changed over the past few decades?
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job? Tags: expert information communication health care team tips. Net Podcasts. RSS Feed. Net Terms and Conditions. Contact Us: Email: blog cancer. Find a Cancer Doctor.
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