Immunotherapy

Questions to ask your doctor about immunotherapy

It is important to ask your specialist questions, especially if you feel confused or uncertain about your treatment. You may want to make a list of your questions before your appointments and include some of the questions below.

Preparing for treatment

  • Is immunotherapy available as part of my treatment plan?
  • How do I find out about clinical trials? Are there any nearby that might be right for me?
  • Which immunotherapy drug are you recommending? Does it have different names?
  • What percentage of people with this type of cancer respond to immunotherapy?
  • How often have you prescribed this treatment?
  • Has it worked well for your other patients?
  • What do you expect the immunotherapy to do to the cancer? Will it be my only treatment?
  • How much will immunotherapy cost? Is there any way to reduce the cost if I can’t afford it?

Treatment

  • How often will I have immunotherapy?
  • How long will I have treatment?
  • Where will I have treatment?
  • While I am having immunotherapy, can I take other medicines (including over-the-counter medicines) or supplements?
  • Can I have the flu, COVID-19 or other vaccines?
  • Can I use complementary therapies while I am on this treatment?
  • How will I know if the treatment is working?
  • Can diet and exercise assist with the success of the immunotherapy?

Side effects

  • What side effects should I watch out for or report?
  • Am I likely to get all of the side effects on the list?
  • Who do I contact if I get side effects?
  • How can side effects be managed?