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Find out more about chemotherapy and different side effects associated with chemotherapy...
 

During the time you are being treated for your cancer, it can be hard to remember everything you hear at office visits, or what you’ve been feeling between visits. But keeping track of this information can be helpful both to you and to your health care team. That’s why the On Track journal has been created—to help you keep a daily record of what you experience.

Chemotherapy causes side effects in everyone who gets it. It’s important that your doctor or nurse knows what side effects you are having between appointments, how bad they are, and what you did about them. By writing these things down each day, you’ll be ready to discuss them during your office visits. That way, your health care team knows exactly how you’ve felt, both physically and emotionally, since your last appointment. Then they can do a better job of helping you manage the side effects you are having.

Keeping track of certain numbers is important, too. Your doctor or nurse will ask you to take your temperature every day, and you can record it in this journal. A temperature over 100.4°F (38°C) can be a sign of infection and should be reported immediately. At office visits, your nurse will do a complete blood count, measuring the level of your neutrophils (infection-fighting white blood cells), hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. These numbers tell your health care team whether you’re at risk for side effects such as infection, fatigue, or bleeding. You can ask your nurse for a copy of your blood counts each time they’re taken so you can record these numbers in your journal, too.

When you have important information at your fingertips in a well-organized journal, you may feel more in control. And it’s much easier to share the facts with your health care team and your family. Stay on track by writing in your journal every day—and don’t forget to bring it to every appointment!

Download the On Track journal in Adobe® Acrobat® format.



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Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) is prescribed to reduce the risk of infection (initially marked by fever) in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy that decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells.

Important product safety information
Ruptured spleen (including fatal cases), serious allergic reactions, and a serious lung problem called acute respiratory distress syndrome have been reported. Call your doctor or seek emergency care right away if you have abdominal or shoulder tip pain, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, a fast rate of breathing, or any allergic reaction. The most common side effect of this injection is mild to moderate bone pain. If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

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