National Cancer Institute

U.S. Department of health 

and human services

National Institutes of Health

Using the 

Chemotherapy 

Side Effects

Fact Sheets

Helping Providers Help Their Patients
About the 

chemotherapy 

side effects 

facts sheets

The National Cancer 

Institute (NCI) worked 

closely with health care 

providers and patients 

at cancer centers across 

the country, and 

with providers at the 

National Institutes 

of Health (NIH) 

Clinical Center, to develop this 

chemotherapy educational series. The series 

includes 18 free fact sheets to help patients manage side 

effects and a pamphlet about chemotherapy. 

The one-page fact sheets offer practical tips to strengthen your 

patients’ understanding of, and ability to prevent or manage, 

side effects. The chemotherapy pamphlet describes what 

chemotherapy is and how it works. 

Easy-to-understand language, engaging quotes, photographs, 

and questions can also help your patients understand and 

actively participate in their care. The information is intended 

to complement your patients’ individualized consultation 

with you, their health care provider.

See the last two pages of this booklet for a list of topics 

and information on how to order these handouts.

Here is what providers said about these 

handouts during pilot testing:

“The materials address all of the issues patients are 

concerned about in an easy to follow format.”

“These handouts hit the highlights patients need 

to know about at the beginning of treatment. 

And it’s nice to have one sheet to give people.”

“The information is user-friendly and culturally 

sensitive. I’ll hand these out to my patients.”

“When I was going through them, I thought— 

I could teach from this. I could take this in and 

sit down with my patient, and we could just go 

through this.”

Research shows that early side-effect 

management and pretreatment information 

may help decrease patients’ fears and anxiety 

and increase understanding of treatment.* 

* Hofman, et al. 2004. Cancer patients’ expectations 

of experiencing treatment-related side effects. 

Cancer. 101(4):851–857.
Tips on using the chemotherapy 

fact sheets in a clinical setting:

1. Hand out the relevant fact sheets to your patient.

Talk about the information on the fact sheet while the 

patient is in your office.

l Discussing these fact sheets during an office visit can 

increase your patient’s likelihood of reading and using 

them at home.

l When patients understand what to expect during 

treatment and the actions to take, they will have less 

anxiety about side effects. 

l The fact sheets can be given to patients in the waiting 

room or during discussions about chemotherapy and 

specific side effects.

2. Highlight or circle important information and 

action steps. 

Use a highlighter or a colored pen to draw attention to 

key information and action steps on each fact sheet.

l This simple act can increase your patient’s adherence 

to the actions you would like him or her to take.

3. Use the teach-back technique.

For important behaviors and information, ask your 

patients to share in their own words what they learn.

l Confirming patient understanding through the 

teach-back technique has been shown to improve 

patient recall and comprehension.

l Applying the teach-back technique during the 

patient consult can help avoid misunderstanding. 

It can also reduce the time spent educating 

patients during subsequent visits.
Chemotherapy Treatment 

Pamphlet

l Understanding Chemotherapy

Order the chemotherapy 

side effects fact sheets 

in tear-off pads of 50 sheets 

or as single copies:

l Call the National Cancer Institute’s 

Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237 

(1-800-4-CANCER).

l Or visit us online at www.cancer.gov/publications.

NOTE: Product or brand names that appear in these fact sheets are for 

example only. The U.S. Government does not endorse any specific product 

or brand. If products or brands are not mentioned, it does not mean or 

imply that they are not satisfactory.

Chemotherapy Side Effects Fact Sheets

l Anemia

l Appetite Changes

l Bleeding Problems

l Constipation

l Diarrhea

l Fatigue (Feeling weak and very tired)

l Hair Loss (Alopecia)

l Infection

l Memory Changes

l Mouth and Throat Changes

l Nausea and Vomiting

l Nerve Changes

l Pain

l Sexual and Fertility Changes in Men

l Sexual and Fertility Changes in Women

l Skin and Nail Changes

l Swelling (Fluid retention)

l Urination Changes
How to Order

Call the National Cancer Institute’s 

Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237 

(1-800-4-CANCER). 

Or visit us online at 

www.cancer.gov/publications.

Chemotherapy Side Effects Fact Sheets 

come in tear-off pads of 50 sheets.

Each title may also be ordered as a single copy.

NIH Publication No. 08-6509

Printed August 2008