Regular Visits with Your Health Care Team

Stay on course, ask questions, get help

Regular visits with your health care team play an important role in treatment with INTRON® A. Your doctor will want to track your progress closely, using blood tests and other ways to see how your body is responding to the medication.

Here are some ideas that can help when you have a doctor's appointment:

• Write down a list of questions BEFORE you go and bring it with you.
• Bring a trusted friend or family member with you, to help you listen. This person can also take notes so that you don't have to worry about remembering everything.
• If you go alone, don't feel self-conscious about taking notes. You might even want to bring a small tape recorder and ask the doctor if you can record the conversation, to help you remember things later.
• If anyone on your health care team says something you don't understand, be sure to ask them to explain it. There are bound to be unfamiliar words and concepts that come up and you have a right to understand them.

Talk about side effects and any changes in your mood.

If you are struggling with a side effect or some other aspect of treatment, discuss this with your health care team. Even changes in your mood (such as feeling down or helpless) can be related to treatment.

There are ways the doctor can help, including:

• medicines to control side effects
• changing your dose of INTRON® A