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 Open the Lines of Communication
Your healthcare team is there to help you, but your active involvement is just as important. Be sure to share any side effects, symptoms or concerns so that you can stay on therapy with minimal discomfort. Partner with your healthcare provider to evaluate progress. It is important to remember, for example, that CA-125 is only one of many ways to monitor your response to treatment. Tumor markers are not specific, and they have been known to cause false-positive results (i.e., results indicate the presence of disease when it isn’t really there). See the Evaluating CA-125 Levels page on this Web site for more information about how the CA-125 tumor marker is used in assessing the response to treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer. There are other parameters that your doctor will use, including a symptom profile, how you are feeling, a physical exam and periodic imaging studies, such as CT scans and MRIs, to try to determine how well you are responding to treatment. A minimum of 4 courses of DOXIL is recommended because time to response in clinical trials was approximately 4 months. |
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Doxil (doxorubicin HCl), is a prescription medicine that is administered intravenously by your healthcare professional. DOXIL is used to treat patients with ovarian cancer that has progressed or recurred after platinum-based chemotherapy. Please read Important Safety Information below, and talk to your healthcare professional to learn more about DOXIL. Important Safety Information Serious and possibly permanent heart-related side effects that may lead to congestive heart failure can occur in patients treated with DOXIL. Inform your doctor of any history of heart disease, radiation to your chest, or prior chemotherapy. Your doctor may monitor your heart function.Infusion reactions may occur during administration. Be sure to tell your doctor if you have any symptoms during infusion, including: flushing, shortness of breath, facial swelling, headaches, chills, back pain, tightness in your chest or throat, dizziness, or lightheadedness. For most patients, these reactions have resolved within several hours to a day once the infusion is stopped, or for some patients with slowing of the infusion rate. However, in some cases, these reactions may be serious and sometimes life threatening, though they are rarely fatal. DOXIL may severely reduce the number of blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) in your body. Your doctor may adjust or delay your dose of DOXIL if this occurs. Your doctor may adjust your dose of DOXIL if you have liver problems. You should not take DOXIL if you are nursing. If you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, inform your doctor. You should not take DOXIL if you are allergic to doxorubicin HCI or the components of DOXIL. The most common side effects of DOXIL are:
Be sure to tell your doctor immediately if you experience any of these or other symptoms. DOXIL may make the side effects of other anticancer therapies worse when used in combination. Following administration, DOXIL may turn urine and other bodily fluids a reddish-orange color. This is due to the color of DOXIL and will go away as the drug leaves the body. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088). Please click here for full Product Information in PDF format,for more details. |
This site is published by Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. which is solely responsible for its contents. © Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. 2003-2010 Last modified on:Dec 03 2009 at 10:48:02 EST |
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