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He told me he has other patients on 1 pill. I will keep you posted because I was concerned about the treatment effectiveness with reducing dosage.

August 13
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A MyLeukemiaTeam Member

Everyone as you mentioned is vastly different with how their systems react/respond to meds…even simply meds like Tylenol. I’ve seen so many times I this site where oncologists reduce the dosage or sometimes change to something else due to the person suffering with bad side effects. Would think they would automatically start with a lower dose to see how patient reacts…but they don’t unfortunately..advocate for yourselves & if something is too much on your system, have them
Reduce or change your meds..

August 13
A MyLeukemiaTeam Member

The Calquence wasn't too bad at first but after a couple of weeks I started getting a lot of stomach issues mainly daily episodes of diarrhea day and night. This got me dehydrated so I called my care team and they told me that I could take something to help such as Imodium AD. This layed me up with more fatigue and had to be really careful what i ate and not being able to get out of the house. Anyway my care team in St. Louis told me to cut the dosage in half taking 1 pill in the morning instead of the full 2 dose a day. I will touch bass with my oncologist on Monday to discuss my side effects and the dosage. Best of luck and the side effects are different with each person. It is a strong medicine but has many positive results.

August 13
A MyLeukemiaTeam Member

So what were your side effects. My oncologist is talking about calquince plus monthly infusions of rituximab

August 13
MyLeukemiaTeam

It's completely understandable to feel concerned about whether a reduced dose will still be effective. The good news is that your oncologist is clearly paying close attention to finding the right balance between managing side effects and keeping your treatment on track — and that's exactly what good care looks like.

It's Show Full Answer

It's completely understandable to feel concerned about whether a reduced dose will still be effective. The good news is that your oncologist is clearly paying close attention to finding the right balance between managing side effects and keeping your treatment on track — and that's exactly what good care looks like.

It's worth knowing that dose adjustments are a normal part of leukemia treatment. The goal is always to find the level that works best for your body while still targeting the leukemia effectively. A few things that can help going into your next appointment:

- Write down any side effects you're still experiencing, even ones that seem minor
- Note any changes — good or bad — since the dose reduction
- Ask your oncologist directly about how they'll monitor whether the reduced dose is still working

Open communication with your care team is one of the most powerful tools available. Doctors can't fine-tune your treatment without knowing how you're feeling, so sharing everything — even the small stuff — really matters.

August 13

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