BUSULFAN

(bue SUL fan) Brand: Busulfex, Myleran

What is the most significant information I must know about busulfan?

• Busulfan can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections and help your blood to clot. You may get an infection or bleed more easily. Call your doctor if you have unusual bruising or bleeding, or signs of infection (fever, chills, body aches).

• Busulfan can have long lasting effects on your body. You may need frequent medical trials for a short time after you stop using this medicine.

What is busulfan?

• Busulfan is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.

• Busulfan is used to treat the symptoms of chronic myelogenous leukemia (a type of blood cancer). Busulfan is not a cure for leukemia.

• Busulfan may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till using busulfan?

• You must not use busulfan if you are allergic to it.

• To create certain you can safely take busulfan, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:

· a weak immune system (bone marrow depression) caused by another cancer medications or radiation treatment;

· epilepsy or another seizure disorder;

· history of head injury; or

· a history of lung or breathing problems.

• FDA pregnancy category D. Do not use busulfan if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn child. Use effective birth control, and speak your doctor if you become pregnant during treatment.

• This medicine may affect fertility (your capacity to have children), whether you are a man or a woman.

• It is not known whether busulfan passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. Speak your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

• Some people treated with busulfan have developed new forms of cancer. Conversation to your doctor about your specific risks and benefits of using this medication.

How must I use busulfan?

• Use exactly as predesigned by your doctor. Do not use in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Take the busulfan tablet with a full glass of water.

• Busulfan injection is given through a needle placed into a vein in your upper chest (central IV). You will receive this injection in a clinic or hospital setting. You will also receive another medications to help prevent determined side effects of busulfan.

• Busulfan can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections and help your blood to clot. Your blood will need to be tested often. Your cancer treatments may be delayed based on the results of these tests.

• Busulfan can have long lasting effects on your body. You may need frequent medical trials for a short time after you stop using this medicine.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. Skip the missed doze if it is nearly time for your following scheduled doze. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

• Since busulfan injection is given by a healthcare professional, you are not likely to miss a dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.

What must I avoid while using busulfan?

• Avoid being around people who are sick or have infections. Speak your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.

• This medication can pass into body fluids (including urine, feces, vomit, semen, vaginal fluid). For at least 48 hours after you receive a doze, avoid allowing your body fluids to come into contact with your hands or another surfaces. Patients and caregivers must wear rubber gloves while cleaning up body fluids, handling contaminated trash or laundry or changing diapers. Wash hands till and after removing gloves. Wash soiled clothing and linens apart from another laundry.

• Body fluids must not be handled by a woman who is pregnant or who may become pregnant. Use condoms during sexual activity to avoid exposure to body fluids.

• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using busulfan, and avoid coming into contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine. There is a chance that the virus could be passed on to you. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), rotavirus, typhoid, yellow fever, varicella (chickenpox), zoster (shingles), and nasal flu (influenza) vaccine.

What are the possible side effects of busulfan?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.

• Call your doctor at once if you have:

· pale skin, feeling light-headed or short of breath, trouble concentrating;

· light bruising, unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum), purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin;

· fever, chills, sore throat, flu symptoms, loss of appetite, weight loss, unusual weakness, mouth and throat ulcers, rapid and shallow breathing;

· signs of infection such as fever, chills, sore throat, flu symptoms, loss of appetite, weight loss, unusual weakness, mouth and throat ulcers, rapid and shallow breathing;

· weight gain, stomach swelling or tenderness, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);

· coughing up blood;

· stomach pain, vomiting, sharp chest pain, trouble breathing;

· lower back pain, blood in your urine, few or no urinating;

· confusion, jerking muscle movements, muscle tightness or contraction, overactive reflexes, muscle weakness or limp feeling, leg discomfort, numbness or tingly feeling near your mouth;

· quick, slow, or uneven heart rate;

· weak pulse, confusion, fainting, seizure; or

· persistent cough, congestion, low fever, feeling short of breath (these symptoms may occur different months or years after using busulfan).

· seizure (convulsions); or

• General side effects may include:

· headache;

· diarrhea, constipation, nausea, upset stomach;

· flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling);

· swelling or irritation near the IV needle;

· missed menstrual periods; or

· hair loss, darkened skin color.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect busulfan?

• Speak your doctor about all medicines you use, and those you start or stop using during your treatment with busulfan, especially:

· acetaminophen (Tylenol);

· itraconazole; or

· phenytoin.

• This list is not complete. Another drugs may interact with busulfan, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal commodity. Not all possible interactions are listed in this medicine manual.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about busulfan.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.