When and why should I bring up side effects to treatment?

When and

why bring upside effects to treatment.

this is one of the most important
questions that's ever been asked.

This is something very near
and dear to my heart.

And I always say the following
You don't get extra points for suffering.

Always important to let your care team
know about side effects you're having,

even if you've had them a long time
because they may mean

something to him or her
and maybe not that much to you.

May be having a small problem for a little
while is okay, but over a long time

we may say we need to adjust things
always be open

and honest with your care team
about any and all problems.

Many of them we have abilities to mitigate
or even overcome.

So it's very important to always discuss
these problems.

Never keep them to yourself,
even if you think they're minor.

I would rather a patient tell me ten
minor things in a row than not.

Tell me that one thing that, Oh,

I need to switch therapy And part of
this is really

the wonders of having a long term
care relationship with your care team,

their patients that I know for years
that never complain about anything.

And if they're like, I'm having
a little problem, I know for that person

that means something big.

So it's really important to,

you know, develop that relationship
with your care team

so that they can even read
your nonverbal cues So in general, I,

I as a physician, I always want to know
how my patients are doing.

So mentioning side effects to your doctor
is definitely a good idea.

Always if you can take care of them
yourselves, that's great.

Let your doctor know so the doctor doesn't
have to take care of them.

But I think there is no reason not to tell
your doctor about your side effects.

Sometimes they might interest
the treatment, sometimes they might say,

okay, this is just temporary.

It will go away after a while.

Sometimes they might have an easy fix
for a side effect,

and you don't have to suffer
from the side effect.

And especially if you only see myeloma
like myself,

you have seen a lot of side effects,
of course, in patients.

And sometimes patients have great ideas
how to help other patients.

So I oftentimes give recommendations
on how to treat a side effect

from what
I have learned from other patients.

So I think it's definitely making sense
because it's a myeloma patient.

You are the only myeloma patient
as a physician.

You see a lot of myeloma patients
and then you can give recommendations.

And even physicians
who don't see only myeloma,

but other diseases oftentimes
have a good idea what to do

with a side effect that they know
may be from another cancer patient.