Drugs, alcohol and cancer treatment

It’s important to be honest with your doctors and nurses if you smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs. They won’t be angry with you or judge you but they do need to know. 

It’s important you understand that all of those things can have an impact on your cancer treatment. And by not drinking, smoking or taking drugs now, you can give your body the best chance of dealing with cancer.  

Drugs and alcohol can: 

• Interfere with treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy   

• Make side effects worse   

• Increase your chance of getting breathing problems and chest infections   

• Increase your risk of other side effects, like liver problems  

• Increase your chances of getting other infections, especially if you’re sharing needles   

• Affect the way you think, making it more difficult to cope  

• Be honest with your care team 

Your doctors and nurses might ask if you’re taking anything now or have done in the past. They’re only interested in your health, so everything you say is confidential and you won’t get in any trouble.  

In short, if you’ve used legal or illegal drugs, including alcohol and cigarettes, don’t pretend you haven’t. It’s better if the people looking after you know, and you can always ask to talk to your medical team in private, without your carer being there. 

Maybe you’ve tried to give up drinking, smoking or taking drugs in the past, but haven’t quite managed it. If you want to try again it’s best to discuss this with your care team first so they can help you find the best and safest way to do this. 

We’re not telling you to stop forever – although it’ll be better for your health in the long term if you do. We just want you to know that it can make a difference to your treatment. 

You can ask your care team for information about organisations you can contact for support to give up cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.