Cancer treatment tablets (oral anticancer therapy)

What is oral anticancer therapy?

Oral anticancer therapy means cancer medicines that you take by mouth — as tablets or capsules — usually at home. It includes some chemotherapy drugs (such as capecitabine), as well as many targeted and hormonal cancer treatments.

Taking treatment at home can be more convenient than coming in for infusions, but these are still powerful drugs. They work just as seriously as drugs given by drip, and they can have significant side effects and interactions.

Because you manage them yourself, taking them exactly as prescribed (adherence) really matters — taking too little may make treatment less effective, and taking too much can be dangerous. Many of these drugs interact with other medicines, supplements and foods such as grapefruit, and most need regular blood tests and reviews to stay safe.

This guide is about taking oral cancer treatment safely. The specific drug, its aim (to try to cure or to control the cancer), and its side effects depend on your diagnosis and what you have been prescribed.

Types, options & approaches

There may be different ways to do this. The right approach depends on the clinical question and your circumstances.

Options at a glance

These are the main approaches described in this guide. The right option depends on the diagnosis, your goals and what your clinician thinks is safe.

Preparing for your treatment

• Make sure you understand exactly when and how to take the drug, and for how long.
• Give your team a full list of all medicines, supplements, herbal remedies and over-the-counter products.
• Ask which foods or drinks to avoid, such as grapefruit, with your specific drug.
• Ask what to do if you miss a dose, are sick after taking it, or take too much.
• Have any baseline blood tests, heart checks or scans your team arranges.
• Set up a reminder system and a safe place to store the tablets away from children.
• Save the 24-hour cancer team or acute oncology contact number.

What happens

You are usually started on oral anticancer therapy in a clinic appointment, where the team explains the drug, the dose, the schedule and the side effects, and gives you written information. You then take the medicine at home according to the plan — for example once or twice a day, sometimes in cycles with breaks.

Many of these drugs should be taken in a particular way, such as with or after food, swallowed whole with water, at consistent times. You usually wash your hands after handling the tablets and keep them in their original packaging.

You attend regular reviews and blood tests so your team can check how you are tolerating the drug, manage side effects and adjust the dose if needed. The cancer's response is assessed over weeks to months with scans and tests. Because you are in charge of taking the medicine, your team relies on you to take it correctly and to report problems quickly.

Is this treatment right for me?

A good consultation should explore whether it's the right choice for you now — including reasons to wait or consider something else.

Before you decide

Use this as a shared-decision checklist. The aim is not just “can this be done?”, but whether it is right for you, now, with the risks and alternatives clearly understood.

The biggest practical issues with oral cancer treatment are taking it correctly, drug and food interactions, and recognising side effects early at home. A high temperature can be a sign of serious infection and needs urgent contact, especially if your blood counts can drop. Tell your team about every medicine and supplement you take, ask about foods to avoid, and never change the dose or double up without advice.

Published figures to discuss

Benefit and side effects vary widely across the many oral anticancer drugs, the cancers they treat and the individual. Reputable sources avoid quoting single response or survival figures because they differ greatly and can mislead. A well-established practical point is that good adherence matters — studies suggest real-world adherence to oral cancer drugs is often lower than assumed, and both under-dosing and over-dosing carry risks. The key safety issues are correct dosing, interactions, and recognising side effects such as infection early.

These are literature figures, not a personalised prediction. Your own risks and likely benefits depend on your circumstances, your health, and how your care is carried out and followed up.

What happens afterwards

Oral anticancer therapy is taken over weeks, months or longer, so 'afterwards' means living alongside treatment at home, managing side effects, and attending reviews and blood tests to check it is working safely.

• Tiredness that varies during a cycle.
• Some nausea, looser stools, or a sore mouth.
• Skin or hand-and-foot changes with certain drugs.
• Needing regular blood tests between cycles.
• Dose adjustments to find the right balance of benefit and side effects.

Aftercare

• Take the medicine exactly as prescribed — right dose, right times, with or after food if advised.
• Use a reminder system, and follow your team's advice on what to do if you miss a dose.
• Do not take a double dose to catch up unless your team specifically tells you to.
• If you are sick shortly after taking a dose, contact your team rather than guessing.
• Tell your team about every other medicine, supplement or remedy, and check before starting anything new.
• Avoid grapefruit and any other foods your team advises against for your drug.
• Wash your hands after handling tablets, keep them in their original packaging, and store them safely away from children.
• Attend all blood tests and reviews, and report side effects early.

• Written instructions on dose, timing and how to take the drug
• Clear advice on missed or vomited doses
• List of medicines, supplements and foods to avoid
• A reminder system for taking tablets
• Blood test and review appointments booked
• Side effects to report and a 24-hour contact number saved
• A thermometer at home to check for fever
• Safe, child-proof storage for the medicine

⚠ Get urgent help if…

• A high temperature (for example 37.5°C or above) or feeling shivery and unwell — contact your team urgently, as this can mean serious infection.
• Diarrhoea four or more times a day, or that wakes you at night, or vomiting that stops you keeping fluids down.
• Sore, red, peeling or blistering palms and soles (hand-foot syndrome).
• Mouth ulcers or soreness that stop you eating or drinking.
• Unusual bruising or bleeding.
• Signs of a blood clot — a painful, swollen leg, or sudden breathlessness or chest pain.
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes, or very dark urine.
• Taking too much of the medicine, or a serious reaction — seek urgent help.

Who to contact: your clinician, clinic or test provider first (keep their number to hand). For urgent advice when you can't reach them, call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

General guidance — it doesn't replace the specific advice your specialist gives you.

Results & realistic expectations

A good outcome means scans and blood tests show the cancer responding or staying controlled, with side effects you can manage. Whether the aim is to try to cure the cancer, to lower the chance of it returning, or to control it depends on your diagnosis.

Oral cancer treatment works just as seriously as the same drug given another way, but it is not a guaranteed cure, does not help everyone, and only works well if taken correctly. Your team will judge how well it is working and adjust the plan, and will be honest about what is realistic for you.

How long oral anticancer therapy is taken varies a lot — from a fixed number of cycles, to years of hormone tablets, to continuous treatment for as long as it controls an advanced cancer. Some cancers become resistant over time, at which point treatment is changed. Your team reviews the plan regularly.

Related tests, treatments or support

Oral anticancer drugs may be used alone or combined with infusions, injections, radiotherapy or surgery, depending on the cancer. When combined with other treatments, following the timing of each part correctly is important. Some oral drugs must not be taken with certain other medicines, so your team coordinates the whole plan.

Follow-up & long-term care

You are reviewed regularly with blood tests, checks on side effects and how you are managing the medicine, and scans to assess response. Your team should explain how long treatment lasts, how it is monitored, what to do about missed doses, and how to report problems urgently.

• Taking the medicine consistently and correctly over the whole prescribed period.
• Regular blood tests to monitor blood counts and organs.
• Continued care to avoid harmful drug, supplement and food interactions.
• Reviewing and adjusting the dose to balance benefit and side effects.
• Keeping repeat prescriptions organised and stored safely.
• Regular scans or markers to check the cancer's response.

Repeat, follow-on and what comes next

• Doses are often adjusted to manage side effects rather than stopping treatment.
• Treatment may be paused while a side effect or infection is treated.
• If the cancer becomes resistant or the drug is not tolerated, the team usually changes treatment.
• Sometimes oral treatment is switched to an infusion, or vice versa, depending on what is safest.

Ask what happens if the result is unclear or needs repeating, and what is included if further tests or follow-up are needed.

What good aftercare looks like

• Clear, written instructions on how to take the medicine, missed doses and what to avoid.
• Regular blood-test monitoring and reviews, with the dose adjusted as needed.
• A named contact and 24-hour acute oncology route, with explicit fever and infection advice.
• Support to take the medicine correctly, and good coordination with the NHS and pharmacy.

What affects the cost

Costs vary a great deal between people and providers, and we don't publish prices. What matters is understanding what drives the cost and making sure your quote is complete. The main things that affect it:

• The specific oral drug and how long treatment continues.
• Any testing of the cancer needed before treatment.
• Pharmacy dispensing and supply of the medicine.
• Regular blood tests and scans needed for monitoring.
• Specialist consultations and review appointments.
• Management of side effects, including any hospital admissions.
• Whether the drug is NHS-approved for your cancer or only available privately.

• The cost of the medicine and the expected duration of treatment.
• Whether monitoring blood tests and scans are included, and who reports them.
• The specialist consultation and review fees.
• Pharmacy and supply arrangements for the tablets.
• What happens, and what it costs, if side effects need treatment or admission.
• Whether the drug is NICE-approved for your cancer, and how care is coordinated with the NHS.

On the NHS? Many oral anticancer treatments are funded by the NHS where NICE has approved them; private care may be used for a quicker first appointment or more choice, but does not change the underlying treatment or guarantee outcomes.

You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including reports, follow-up and what happens if the result is inconclusive — before you decide.

Consent traps and marketing red flags

These are not small details. They are often where patients lose choice, time to reflect, or realistic expectations.

Choosing a specialist safely

• Check the specialist is on the GMC Specialist Register for this area.
• Make sure they work at a CQC-registered service, and look for membership of the relevant Royal College or professional body.
• You're entitled to time to consider and to have your questions answered before you agree — the specialist who looks after you should explain it, not a salesperson.
• Be wary of pressure: time-limited offers or deposits taken before you've had time to think are red flags, not bargains.
• You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including any follow-up — before you decide.

How Vuemedics verifies every consultant →

Take this to your consultation. A good specialist will welcome every one of these.

• What is this drug for, and is the aim to try to cure my cancer or to control it?
• Exactly how and when should I take it, and for how long?
• What should I do if I miss a dose or am sick after taking it?
• Which medicines, supplements or foods must I avoid?
• Which side effects need urgent contact, and who do I call out of hours?
• How often will I have blood tests, and what are they checking?
• Is this drug approved for my cancer on the NHS, or is it private or part of a trial?
• Are you on the GMC Specialist Register for this area, and which Royal College or professional body are you a member of?
• Will you be the specialist who carries out my treatment, and who looks after me afterwards?
• What are the risks for someone like me, and how often do your own patients have a problem or need it repeated or redone?
• What does a realistic result look like — and what can this treatment not achieve?
• What are my options, including waiting, doing nothing for now, or choosing a different approach?
• Can I have written information, results and aftercare instructions in a format I can use, including any accessibility or communication support I need?
• What is the total cost in writing, including any follow-ups, and how much time do I have to decide?

Find a verified specialist for cancer treatment tablets (oral anticancer therapy)

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How we made this page

Medically reviewed by a GMC-registered consultant. Written in plain English, checked against NHS, NICE, GMC and relevant Royal College / specialist-society guidance, and kept under review. No clinic paid to appear on this page, and we publish no pricing. This is general information to help you prepare — it is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician. How we review our guides →

Source hierarchy: UK regulator and NHS/NICE guidance first, then relevant Royal College or specialist-society guidance, then peer-reviewed evidence for procedure-specific figures where available.

Sources & standards: Macmillan — Capecitabine (example oral anticancer drug) Cancer Research UK — Capecitabine Cancer Research UK — About chemotherapy NHS — Chemotherapy NICE — Oral anticancer medicines safety (relevant guidance) Adherence to oral anticancer therapy — PMC review

Reviews reflect patients' experience of care, not clinical outcomes. For procedure volumes and outcome data see PHIN.

Last medically reviewed 2026-09-21. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report an error in this guide.