If you need help now
Call your local emergency number now if
- You have chest pain, severe breathlessness, or you collapse or faint.
- You have a temperature above 38°C, uncontrollable shivering, or feel suddenly very unwell — and you are having, or recently had, chemotherapy or other treatment that lowers your immunity. This can be a life-threatening infection and cannot wait.
- You have new back pain with weakness or numbness in your legs, or you cannot control your bladder or bowels.
- You have a seizure, sudden confusion, sudden severe headache, or one-sided weakness or facial droop.
- You are bleeding heavily, vomiting blood, or passing black tarry stools.
- You have a hot, swollen, painful calf, or sudden breathlessness with chest pain.
- You cannot keep any fluids down, or you have stopped passing urine.
Tell them you have had cancer treatment, what treatment it was, and when. It changes what they look for and how quickly they act.
Contact your cancer team the same day if
- You have any symptom your team specifically told you to report.
- You have a fever, or feel unwell in a way you cannot explain.
- You have new, severe or rapidly worsening pain.
- You are vomiting, have severe diarrhoea, or cannot take essential medication.
- A wound, line site or stoma is red, hot, swollen or leaking.
Most cancer services have a 24-hour advice line. If you do not know yours, ask for it at your next appointment and keep it in My Journey and in your phone.
If you are struggling to cope
If you are thinking about ending your life, or you feel unable to keep yourself safe, please get help now. Contact your local emergency number, go to an emergency department, or call a crisis line. You can also tell your cancer team or family doctor — they will take it seriously and they will not judge you.
Find A Helpline lists free crisis and emotional support lines by country.
A note on hesitating
People who have been through cancer treatment routinely delay seeking help — for fear of wasting time, of being a burden, or of what it might mean. Every cancer team says the same thing: they would far rather see you unnecessarily than late. Contacting them is not an imposition. It is the system working as intended.
This page is general information and cannot account for your individual circumstances. It does not replace the advice of the clinicians treating you. Read our medical disclaimer.