Cough syrup

Hi

My name is Kenny, and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists working on the Macmillan support line.   You do not state when you started your chemotherapy, but I hope you your chemotherapy treatment is going as well as expected and you are coping reasonably well. 

It is important that you speak to your chemotherapy team today, as different things can cause a cough.  This can be a sign of a chest infection, which can be a sign of sepsis.  Please check your temperature to ensure it is not above 37.5 C or below 36.C, which would need to be treated as an emergency.  There are other less serious reasons for a cough (caused by drugs provided or treatments) so this needs to be established.  It may well be that your cough medicine is appropriate, however the cause of your cough needs to be identified and your cancer team are best placed to address this.  You should also have been given an out of hours contact number, please use this number if you are struggling to speak with someone today. 

In the future, it may also be helpful to give one of our nurses a call directly if you are needing to talk things over.  Many people find that over time they settle back into their usual routines. But it is important to remember that support is available here at MacMillan, to help you with any physical or emotional problems you may have.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, and our lines are open 7 days a week, from 8am till 8pm.  

Warmest Regards, 

Kenny 

Clinical Information Nurse Specialist.