Things to Tell Your Doctor Before Treatment
Whenever your doctor prescribes a treatment, tell him or her if:
- you've taken the drug before (even if you had no unusual reaction)
- you had an unusual or allergic reaction to this drug
- you have or have had any other medical conditions, including:
- diabetes
- gout
- heart disease (or abnormal heart rhythms or congestive heart failure)
- a head injury
- infection
- an immune deficiency
- kidney disease
- kidney stones
- liver disease
- marrow depression
- low serum magnesium or potassium
- pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
- a history of alcoholism
- you've recently been exposed to varicella (chicken pox) or herpes zoster (shingles)
- you've had an unusual or allergic reaction to any foods such as lactose or egg whites, preservatives, dyes, E. coli-derived proteins, albumin or retinoid (vitamin A) preparations
- you've ever been treated with radiation therapy or other cancer therapies (some cancer drugs may increase the effects of other medications or radiation therapy
- you take any vitamins, minerals, herbs or other supplements
- you're planning a family or have any concerns about intimacy, birth control, fertility, pregnancy or breastfeeding
- you take any other drugs (prescription or over-the-counter)
- you use illegal or street drugs, which can increase the toxicity of certain cancer drugs
- you're a smoker
