Treatment for cancer sometimes can be given at home rather than in the hospital or clinic. Pills, intravenous (or IV) chemo, IV antibiotics, subcutaneous injections (shots given under the skin, also known as "sub-Q" injections), intramuscular injections (shots given into a muscle, also called "IM" injections), and other treatments may be given at home. Talk with your doctor about it. It is important to take medicines as prescribed and to look for side effects that sometimes happen. Usually, a home care nurse or IV therapy (infusion) nurse will come to your home often to give, teach you about, or check on home treatments.

Home treatments sometimes cannot be done due to problems with health insurance. You may want to contact your insurance company to find out more. Patients who cannot make frequent visits to the doctor's office or clinic may qualify for some kinds of home care. To be eligible for this, you must be homebound, only going out for doctor's visits or church.

What the patient can do

Pills:

• Take your pills exactly as you were told to.
• You may have to set an alarm for the middle of the night so you can take your pills at the right time. Put the pill dose and a glass of water on your bedside table so you don't have to get up.
• If taking pills only once a day, you may want to try taking them just before bedtime to avoid side effects, such as nausea. Check with your doctor or nurse about the best time and way to take each medicine.
• Ask your doctor or nurse about any side effects you may have and about ways to control these side effects. (For instance, if your pills could cause nausea, should you take them before meals? Is there something else you can take that would help?)
• Keep all medicines out of the reach of children and pets.
• Check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist before you cut or crush your pills. Some time-released drugs can be dangerous if the pills are broken.

Intravenous (IV) medicine:

• A home health or infusion nurse will come to your home to give drugs intravenously (into a vein) or to teach you and your family how to do so.
• See the section on tubes and IV lines for further information on care of the IV site.

Injections (under the skin or into a muscle):

• Wash your hands well with soap and water before starting.
• Take medicines as instructed by your doctor or nurse.
• Check to be sure that the dosage in the syringe is your prescribed dosage.
• Wipe your skin with alcohol and let it dry for 30 seconds before injecting.
• If the needle touches anything that isn't sterile before you use it to inject, throw the needle away, put a new one on the syringe, and start over.
• Use a different place on the body for each shot.
• For shots under the skin, use a site at least 1 inch away from the place you used before.
• For intramuscular injections (shots into a muscle), ask for a picture or chart of places on the body that are safe to use.
• Check old injection sites for signs of infection, including redness, warmth, swelling, pain, or oozing. A temperature over 100.5° F or higher when taken by mouth may be a sign of infection.
• Throw away used needles and syringes in an empty coffee can with a lid or an empty plastic bleach bottle. Take the full container to the clinic for proper disposal. Or ask the home health nurse if you can get a needle disposal box. Keep the needle container away from children, pets, and visitors.

What caregivers can do

• Learn how to give the medicines in case the patient can't do it.
• If you help with shots, be careful to not stick yourself with the needles. Put the used needle container near the patient before you start. Drop the needle and syringe in as soon as you're finished. Don't put the cap back on the needle before throwing it away.
• Keep the doctor's office number (including emergency numbers) handy.
• If you have a home health nurse who helps with injections, keep his phone number nearby in case you have questions.

Call the doctor if the patient:

• Is about to need a prescription refill
• Spills or loses medicine, or if a dose is vomited or thrown up
• Learns that any person, other than himself, has taken his medicine
• Misses a dose
• Has redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, or pain at any injection site
• Has a fever greater than 100.5° F when taken by mouth
• Has uncomfortable side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or pain
• Cannot give himself the shots or take the pills for any reason
• Notices itching, dizziness, shortness of breath, hives (raised itchy skin welts), or other signs of an allergic reaction after a shot (If this is the case, call emergency medical services (911) before calling the doctor.)

Go back to Caring for the Patient with Cancer at Home: A Guide for Patients and Families.

Last Medical Review: 04/27/2009
Last Revised: 04/27/2009