1. Nausea and vomiting can further debilitate patients in whom physical and psychological status is already compromised, and may seriously diminish their quality of life. 2. A number of nursing, psychological and pharmacological measures can be employed to reduce these side-effects. 3. While conventional anti-emetics have afforded some control of emesis, the 5-HT3 antagonists have proved to be effective and well-tolerated agents.