using pred and imuran

I have had flareups of iritis for the past 19yrs.  In Feb of 2008 the pred forte drops were not working.  My doctor put me on prednizone.  I gained alot of weight and my face is puffy.  I asked to try something else besides the prednozone and he prescribed imuran.  This is really scary, because the side effects includes cancer.  Is there not anything that can replace prednizone that is safer.  I'm not sure that I want to take this chance.  I know that he says that I would have to have a blood test every month for something but now reading about the side effects. I'm not sure I want this.  Is there any help out there.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

There are NO MEDICATIONS THAT don't have side effects. Each year thousands of people die from aspirin. You have a serious life threatening problem. Serious medicines have serious side effects. More people die from prednisone than from imuran. The risks are small (like the chance of death riding in a car) and must be weighed against loss of vision or blindness.

JCH MD