Coping with side-effects of cancer treatment
Tips on managing symptoms and side-effects during and after cancer treatment.
Cancer and cancer treatments can cause a range of side-effects. They can happen:
- During treatment
- A short time after treatment has ended
- Some time after treatment - we have [more information about coping with late side-effects]

Track and report any side-effects
It’s very important to be aware of any changes and let your medical team know about them, even if they happen some time after treatment. There are treatments to help with most side-effects.
Even if a symptom is not troubling you too much, it’s still best to let your medical team know how you’re feeling, as it may be a symptom of something else. For example, fatigue may be a sign that your red blood cell count is low or that your treatment is affecting your hormone levels. If this is the case, you can have treatment to help you feel better.
Keeping track of side-effects: Keep a diary or use a mobile phone app to note how you’re feeling. You can ask your consultant or specialist nurse about this.
Types of side-effects
About suggestions
Cancers starting with: C
- Cachexia
- Cancer and genes
- Cancer and pregnancy
- Cancer and work
- Cancer Fact or Fiction?
- Cancer information supergateway for review
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- Cervical cancer screening
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- Chemotherapy for ALL
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- Children’s cancer charities and support groups
- Choosing a complementary therapist
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- Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)
- Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML)
- Clinical trials
- Clinical trials for children
- CLL after treatment
- CLL signs and symptoms
- CLL treatment
- Clone of Breast Cancer (Overview) LL test
- Clone of Clone of Clone of CLone After treatment 9 April
- Clone of Clone of Demo Knowledge Article for E&E use
- Clone of Clone of Diagnosis and tests option 3 7April DEFUNCT
- Clone of Clone of Lung Cancer (After treatment)
- Clone of Demo Knowledge Article for E&E use DEFUNCT
- Clone of Diagnosis and tests option 2
- Clone of Lung Cancer (Surviving cancer/Life after treatment)
- CML after treatment
- CML Diagnosis and tests
- CML signs and symptoms
- CML treatment
- Colonoscopy
- Colposcopy
- Come and meet our children’s cancer nurse
- Communicating after surgery to remove your larynx
- Constipation
- Constipation and diarrhoea in children
- Coping at home between appointments
- Coping practically and emotionally with children's cancer
- Coping with a cancer diagnosis
- Coping with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
- Coping with ALL
- Coping with an episode of breathlessness
- Coping with anal cancer
- Coping with bile duct cancer
- Coping with bladder cancer
- Coping with bowel cancer
- Coping with brain tumour seizures
- Coping with brain tumours
- Coping with breast cancer
- Coping with cancer of unknown primary (CUP)
- Coping with cervical cancer
- Coping with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)
- Coping with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)
- Coping with eye cancer
- Coping with gall bladder cancer
- Coping with hair loss
- Coping with Hodgkin lymphoma
- Coping with kidney cancer
- Coping with laryngeal cancer
- Coping with liver cancer
- Coping with lung cancer
- Coping with melanoma
- Coping with mesothelioma
- Coping with metastatic breast cancer
- Coping with metastatic cancer
- Coping with metastatic prostate cancer
- Coping with metatstatic prostate cancer
- Coping with mouth, head and neck cancer
- Coping with multiple myeloma
- Coping with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
- Coping with NETs
- Coping with non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Coping with non-melanoma
- Coping with oesophageal cancer
- Coping with ovarian cancer
- Coping with pancreatic cancer
- Coping with penile cancer
- Coping with prostate cancer
- Coping with sarcoma
- Coping with side-effects of metastatic prostate cancer
- Coping with stomach cancer
- Coping with testicular cancer
- Coping with thyroid cancer
- Coping with uterine (womb) cancer
- Coping with vaginal cancer
- Coping with vulval cancer
- Coping with your child’s diagnosis
- Creative arts therapy
- CT scan (CAT scan)
- CT scans for children
- Cystoscopy
C
- Cachexia
- Cancer and genes
- Cancer and pregnancy
- Cancer and work
- Cancer Fact or Fiction?
- Cancer information supergateway for review
- Cancer of unknown primary (CUP)
- Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) (Treatment)
- Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) symptoms
- Cancer prevention
- Cancer signs and symptoms
- Cancer statistics
- Cards preview
- Carers’ entitlements
- Caring for someone with metastatic (advanced) cancer
- Caring for your stoma
- Caring for yourself
- CAYA support and services
- Central lines for children
- Cervical cancer
- Cervical cancer after treatment
- Cervical cancer diagnosis and tests
- Cervical cancer screening
- Cervical cancer signs and symptoms
- Cervical cancer treatment
- Cervical screening
- Checking bone health – DEXA scans
- Chemotherapy
- Chemotherapy for ALL
- Chemotherapy for AML
- Chemotherapy for breast cancer
- Chemotherapy for children’s cancers
- Chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer
- Children's cancer supports
- Children's cancer tests
- Children's risk of infection
- Children’s cancer charities and support groups
- Choosing a complementary therapist
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia CLL
- Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)
- Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML)
- Clinical trials
- Clinical trials for children
- CLL after treatment
- CLL signs and symptoms
- CLL treatment
- Clone of Breast Cancer (Overview) LL test
- Clone of Clone of Clone of CLone After treatment 9 April
- Clone of Clone of Demo Knowledge Article for E&E use
- Clone of Clone of Diagnosis and tests option 3 7April DEFUNCT
- Clone of Clone of Lung Cancer (After treatment)
- Clone of Demo Knowledge Article for E&E use DEFUNCT
- Clone of Diagnosis and tests option 2
- Clone of Lung Cancer (Surviving cancer/Life after treatment)
- CML after treatment
- CML Diagnosis and tests
- CML signs and symptoms
- CML treatment
- Colonoscopy
- Colposcopy
- Come and meet our children’s cancer nurse
- Communicating after surgery to remove your larynx
- Constipation
- Constipation and diarrhoea in children
- Coping at home between appointments
- Coping practically and emotionally with children's cancer
- Coping with a cancer diagnosis
- Coping with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
- Coping with ALL
- Coping with an episode of breathlessness
- Coping with anal cancer
- Coping with bile duct cancer
- Coping with bladder cancer
- Coping with bowel cancer
- Coping with brain tumour seizures
- Coping with brain tumours
- Coping with breast cancer
- Coping with cancer of unknown primary (CUP)
- Coping with cervical cancer
- Coping with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)
- Coping with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)
- Coping with eye cancer
- Coping with gall bladder cancer
- Coping with hair loss
- Coping with Hodgkin lymphoma
- Coping with kidney cancer
- Coping with laryngeal cancer
- Coping with liver cancer
- Coping with lung cancer
- Coping with melanoma
- Coping with mesothelioma
- Coping with metastatic breast cancer
- Coping with metastatic cancer
- Coping with metastatic prostate cancer
- Coping with metatstatic prostate cancer
- Coping with mouth, head and neck cancer
- Coping with multiple myeloma
- Coping with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
- Coping with NETs
- Coping with non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Coping with non-melanoma
- Coping with oesophageal cancer
- Coping with ovarian cancer
- Coping with pancreatic cancer
- Coping with penile cancer
- Coping with prostate cancer
- Coping with sarcoma
- Coping with side-effects of metastatic prostate cancer
- Coping with stomach cancer
- Coping with testicular cancer
- Coping with thyroid cancer
- Coping with uterine (womb) cancer
- Coping with vaginal cancer
- Coping with vulval cancer
- Coping with your child’s diagnosis
- Creative arts therapy
- CT scan (CAT scan)
- CT scans for children
- Cystoscopy