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Файл:Перевод медицинского текста. Учебное пособие для подготовки к практическим занятиям по дисциплине «Иностранный язык»
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Steroid tablets
Steroid tablets, also called corticosteroid tablets, are a type of antiinflammatory medicine used to treat a range of conditions. They can be
used to treat problems such as allergies, asthma, eczema, inflammatory
bowel disease, Addison's disease and arthritis. Steroid tablets are only
available on prescription. Dissolvable, liquid and syrup versions are also available.
Common examples include:
• prednisolone;
• betamethasone;
• dexamethasone;
• hydrocortisone.
How and when to take steroid tablets
Take your medicine as instructed by your doctor. They'll explain how
much to take and how often. It's normally best to take steroid tablets with
or soon after a meal – usually breakfast – because this can stop them irritating your stomach.
If you miss a dose or take too much
If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it's almost
time for your next dose, skip the one you missed. Do not take a double
dose to make up for a forgotten dose. Accidentally taking too many steroid
tablets is unlikely to be harmful if it's a one-off. Speak to your doctor or a
pharmacist if you're worried. Taking too many steroid tablets over a long
period can make you more likely to get side effects.
Coming off treatment
Do not stop taking your medicine without talking to your doctor. If
you've been taking steroid tablets for more than a few days, you usually
need to reduce your dose gradually. Stopping suddenly can cause your adrenal gland, which makes important hormones for the body, to stop working. This is known as adrenal insufficiency.
Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include:
• feeling extremely tired;
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• feeling and being sick;
• dizziness;
• loss of appetite and weight loss.
Your original symptoms may also come back suddenly. Your doctor
will be able to provide more advice about how to safely stop taking steroids.
Side effects of steroid tablets
Taking steroid tablets for less than 3 weeks is unlikely to cause any
significant side effects. But you may get some side effects if you need to
take them for longer or at a high dose.
Side effects of steroid tablets can include:
• indigestion or heartburn;
• increased appetite, which could lead to weight gain;
• difficulty sleeping;
• changes in mood and behaviour, such as feeling irritable or anx-
ious;
• an increased risk of infections – especially chickenpox, shingles
and measles;
• high blood sugar or diabetes;
• weakening of the bones (osteoporosis);
• high blood pressure;
• Cushing's syndrome – which can cause symptoms such as thin skin
that bruises easily, a build-up of fat on the neck and shoulders and a red,
puffy, rounded face;
• eye conditions, such as glaucoma and cataracts;
• mental health problems, such as depression or suicidal thoughts;
get an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if this happens.
Most side effects will pass once treatment stops. Tell your doctor if
they bother you.
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Coping with side effects of steroid tablets
The following tips may help reduce the side effects of steroid tablets:
• take your tablets in the morning with breakfast (although some
specially coated tablets can be taken without food) – this may help prevent
indigestion, heartburn and sleeping difficulties;
• eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly – this may help
prevent weight gain and osteoporosis;
• avoid close contact with people who are ill; especially people
who have measles, chickenpox or shingles – get medical advice as soon as
possible if you think you may have been exposed to someone with an infection;
• ensure your vaccines are up-to-date – but do not have any "live"
vaccines, such as the shingles vaccine.
Your doctor may reduce your dose or suggest taking your tablets less
often (for example, every other day) if you are having side effects.
They may also sometimes recommend other medicines to take alongside steroids to protect you from some of the side effects, such as medicines to help prevent indigestion or heartburn, or medicines that help
strengthen the bones.
You may be given a special steroid treatment card that explains how
you can reduce the risk of side effects.
Taking steroid tablets with other medicines, food or alcohol
Some medicines interfere with the way steroid tablets work. Tell your
doctor if you take any other medicines, including herbal remedies and
supplements, before starting steroid tablets. If you're already taking steroid
tablets, ask your doctor or a pharmacist for advice before taking any other
medicines, remedies or supplements.
You can usually drink alcohol while taking steroid tablets, but do not
drink too much as this may irritate your stomach. You can also eat most
foods while taking steroid tablets. Do not eat liquorice while taking prednisolone, however, as this can increase the amount of the medicine in your
body.
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Who can take steroid tablets
Most people can take steroid tablets.
Tell your doctor before starting treatment if you:
• have had an allergic reaction to steroids in the past;
• have an infection (including eye infections);
• you have recently had, or are about to have, any vaccinations;
• have an open wound that has not healed yet;
• are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying for a baby
• have any other conditions, such as diabetes, epilepsy, high blood
pressure, or problems with your liver, heart or kidneys.
Steroid tablets may not be suitable in these cases, although your doctor may recommend them if they think the benefits outweigh any risks.
Steroid tablets are not usually recommended for children as they can cause
growth problems.
How steroid tablets work
Steroids are a manmade version of hormones normally produced
by the adrenal glands, which are 2 small glands found above the kidneys.
When taken in doses higher than the amount your body normally
produces, steroids reduce redness and swelling (inflammation). This can
help with inflammatory conditions such as asthma and eczema.
Steroids also reduce the activity of the immune system, the body's
natural defence against illness and infection.
This can help treat autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, which are caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking
the body.
Steroid tablets are different from the anabolic steroids used illegally
by some people to increase their muscle mass.
Task 1. Answer the following questions
1. What are different forms of steroids?
2. Are steroids only available on prescription?
3. Steroids are a man-made version of hormones normally produced
by the adrenal glands, aren’t they?
4. Can you name the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency?
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5. What should you tell to your doctor before starting steroidstreat-
ment?
Task 2. Read and translate the following statement and say if it is
true or false
1. Tablets, syrups and liquids are common forms for prednisolone.
2. If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember.
3. Take your tablets in the morning with breakfast, eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly, avoid close contact with people who are
ill; especially people who have measles, chickenpox or shingles to reduce
the side effects of steroid tablets.
4. If you are already taking steroid tablets, you should ask your doctor
or a pharmacist for advice before taking any other medicines, remedies or
supplements.
5. Steroids don’t reduce the activity of the immune system, the body's
natural defence against illness and infection.
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Text 15. Chemotherapy
Read and translate. Прочитайте и переведите текст
Picture 15. A patient undergoing chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill
cancer cells.
There are many different types of chemotherapy medicine, but they
all work in a similar way.
They stop cancer cells reproducing, which prevents them from grow-
ing and spreading in the body.
When chemotherapy is used
Chemotherapy may be used if cancer has spread or there's a risk it will.
It can be used to:
• try to cure the cancer completely (curative chemotherapy);
• make other treatments more effective – for example, it can be
combined with radiotherapy (chemoradiation) or used before surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy);
• reduce the risk of the cancer coming back after radiotherapy or
surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy);
• relieve symptoms if a cure is not possible (palliative chemotherapy).
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The effectiveness of chemotherapy varies significantly. Ask your doc-
tors about the chances of treatment being successful for you.
Types of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be given in several ways. Your doctors will rec-
ommend the best type for you.
The most common types are:
• chemotherapy given into a vein (intravenous chemotherapy) – this
is usually done in hospital and involves medicine being given through a
tube in a vein in your hand, arm or chest;
• chemotherapy tablets (oral chemotherapy) – this usually involves
taking a course of medicine at home, with regular check-ups in hospital.
You may be treated with one type of chemotherapy medicine or a
combination of different types.You'll usually have several treatment sessions, which will typically be spread over the course of a few months.
Side effects of chemotherapy
As well as killing cancer cells, chemotherapy can damage some
healthy cells in your body, such as blood cells, skin cells and cells in the
stomach.
This can cause a range of unpleasant side effects, such as:
• feeling tired most of the time;
• feeling and being sick;
• hair loss;
• an increased risk of getting infections;
• a sore mouth;
• dry, sore or itchy skin;
• diarrhoea or constipation.
Many of these side effects can be treated or prevented and most, if
not all, will pass after treatment stops.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and cancer treatment
During the coronavirus pandemic, doctors have been making changes
to how people have cancer treatments. This might include having treat-
57
ment as tablets instead of a drip. Many people have also been having
treatment in a different centre and, for some, it has been delayed.
You might be worried about how these changes will affect your cancer
treatment, care and support. Cancer services are an absolute priority for
the NHS. COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations have been putting more
pressure on hospitals. Staff are working hard to ensure that cancer diagnosis and treatment can continue safely.
If your treatment is less urgent, your team may reschedule it. It will go
ahead as soon as it is possible to do so. If you have hospital appointments
scheduled, continue to attend these.
How do doctors decide about my treatment plan?
Treatment risks and benefits
When you start cancer treatment, your doctors weigh up the risks and
benefits of treatment. They will discuss these with you. This will include how
coronavirus affects the treatments you should have.
Treatment risks relating to coronavirus include:
• how your cancer treatments affect your immune system. You're
more at risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 if your immune system is weak after treatment;
• other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or long-
term breathing problems, or older age, being very overweight (obese),
male sex, ethnicity, cancer symptoms and vaccination status. This may affect your risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19;
• exposure to the virus during hospital visits. Your team might look
at how you have your treatment to reduce your hospital visits.
Treatment benefits usually refer to the aim of your treatment.
Your treatment might aim to:
• cure your cancer;
• lower the chance of your cancer coming back;
• help you live longer with your cancer;
• control symptoms so you are more comfortable.
Your doctors will weigh up the treatment benefits with the risks of
treatment. They will discuss this with you.
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Prioritising treatment
Your doctors will also consider how urgent your treatment is.
Although doctors usually treat cancer urgently, some treatments are
more urgent than others. In some emergencies, delaying treatment could
be life threatening. Or it could cause long term damage. But in other situations, delaying it might not make a big difference to the outcome.
Is it safe to go to the hospital?
Healthcare teams are taking care to reduce any risk to make it as safe
as possible. They are following strict infection control measures to keep you
and themselves safe.
They might reduce the number of times you need to go to hospital
and lower the amount of time you spend in the hospital. Ways they are
doing this include:
• asking you to come to your appointments on your own to lower
the risk of spreading the infection;
• texting you when they're ready to see you so you don't have to
wait around inside the hospital;
• offering you appointments over the telephone;
• delivering medicines to your home, or finding other places for you
to pick up medicines;
• asking everyone visiting the hospital to wear masks and taking
their temperature on arrival.
Task 1. Answer the following questions
1. How do we call a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill
cancer cells?
2. When can chemotherapy be used?
3. Can chemotherapy damage some healthy cells in your body?
4. What is the aim of chemotherapy treatment?
5. Delaying chemotharapy is life threatening, isn’t it?
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Task 2. Read and translate the following statement and say if it is
true or false
1. Radiotherapy is a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill
cancer cells.
2. Chemotherapy make other treatments more effective – for exam-
ple, it can be combined with radiotherapy (chemoradiation).
3. Side effects of chemotherapy includefeeling tired most of the time,
hair loss,dry, sore or itchy skin, a sore mouth.
4. Although doctors usually treat cancer urgently, some treatments
are more urgent than others: in some emergencies, delaying treatment
could be life threatening.
5. Chemotherapy aim is to cure your cancer, lower the chance of your
cancer coming back, help you live longer with your cancer.
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