• This medicine may cause damage to your heart in certain situations. Talk with healthcare provider. Patients with liver disease need a lower dose. This medicine can have severe effects on the bone marrow. The bone marrow may not be able to produce the cells found in the blood as well as it used to.
• This medicine may irritate or damage the vein.
• This medicine does not mix well with many medicines. Serious reactions may occur. Check all medicines with healthcare provider.
• If you have an allergy to doxorubicin or any other part of this medicine.
• Tell healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medicine. Make sure to tell about the allergy and how it affected you. This includes telling about rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat; or any other symptoms involved.
• If you have any of the following conditions: Bone marrow disease, fast heartbeat, severe liver disease, or severely weakened heart.
• If you have received the maximum lifetime dose already. This may vary, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have received a full treatment with daunorubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, or mitoxantrone.
• If you are pregnant or may be pregnant.
• If you are breast-feeding.
• This medicine can be used alone or in combination with other cancer medicine.
• This medicine is given as a shot into a vein.
• Drink plenty of noncaffeine-containing liquid unless told to drink less liquid by healthcare provider.
• Change in condition being treated. Is it better, worse, or about the same?
• Check blood work regularly. Talk with healthcare provider.
• Heart function tests. Talk with healthcare provider.
• Check weight weekly. Report a weight loss to healthcare provider.
• Follow up with healthcare provider.
• This medicine will be given to you in a healthcare setting. You will not store it at home.
Created: 2005-04-07 16:36:11.0
Modified: 2010-03-09 08:30:20.0
Lexi-PALS TM © (1977)-(2007) Lexi-Comp, Inc. All rights reserved.
• This medicine is used to treat a variety of cancers.
• This medicine is used to treat leukemia.
• This medicine is used to treat lymphoma.
• If you have a life-threatening allergy, wear allergy identification at all times.
• Do not share your medicine with others and do not take anyone else's medicine.
• Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and pets.
• Most medicines can be thrown away in household trash after mixing with coffee grounds or kitty litter and sealing in a plastic bag.
• Keep a list of all your medicines (prescription, natural products, supplements, vitamins, over-the-counter) with you. Give this list to healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, physician assistant).
• Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or in Canada to Health Canada's Canada Vigilance Program at 1-866-234-2345.
• Talk with healthcare provider before starting any new medicine, including over-the-counter, natural products, or vitamins.
• Talk with healthcare provider before receiving any vaccinations. Use with this medicine may either increase the risk of serious infection or make the vaccination less effective.
• If you have gallbladder disease, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have a weakened heart, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have liver disease, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have had radiation therapy, talk with healthcare provider.
• Tell dentists, surgeons, and other healthcare providers that you use this medicine.
• You may bleed more easily. Be careful. Avoid injury. Use soft toothbrush, electric razor.
• Check medicines with healthcare provider. This medicine may not mix well with other medicines.
• Talk with healthcare provider before using aspirin, aspirin-containing products, other pain medicines, blood thinners, garlic, ginseng, ginkgo, or vitamin E.
• Avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice.
• Use birth control that you can trust to prevent pregnancy while taking this medicine.
• If you are a male and sexually active, protect your partner from pregnancy. Use birth control that you can trust.
• Color of body fluids is red for 1-2 days after getting medicine.
• Risk of infection. Avoid people with infections, colds, or flu.
• Flushing. Wearing layers of clothes or summer clothes and cool environment may help.
• Nausea or vomiting. Small frequent meals, frequent mouth care, sucking hard, sugar-free candy, or chewing sugar-free gum may help.
• Mouth and lip irritation. Frequent mouth care with a soft toothbrush or cotton swabs and rinsing mouth may help.
• Hair loss. Hair usually grows back when medicine is stopped.
• Anemia, low white blood cell count, and low platelet count.
• Feeling tired or weak.
• Heart damage can rarely occur.
• Other forms of cancer can rarely occur later in life.
• If you suspect an overdose, call your local poison control center or emergency department immediately.
• Signs of a life-threatening reaction. These include wheezing; chest tightness; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; fits; or swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Signs or symptoms of infection. These include a fever of 100.5 degrees or higher, chills, severe sore throat, ear or sinus pain, cough, increased sputum or change in color, painful urination, mouth sores, wound that will not heal, or anal itching or pain.
• Severe dizziness or passing out.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Severe nausea or vomiting.
• Severe swelling or pain of hands or feet.
• Unusual bruising or bleeding.
• Feeling extremely tired or weak.
• Severe skin irritation.
• Any rash.
• No improvement in condition or feeling worse.
