ETOPOSIDE (ORAL)

(e TOE poe side) Brand: VePesid

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

• Etoposide is a cancer medication.

• Etoposide 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).

• Etoposide can reason a severe allergic reaction. Speak your caregiver right away if you feel light-headed or have a quick heart course, trouble breathing, or swelling in your person.

What is etoposide?

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

• Etoposide is used to treat cancer of the lung or testicles. It is generally given with another cancer medicines in a combination chemotherapy.

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

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking etoposide?

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

• To create certain you can safely take etoposide, speak your doctor if you have kidney disease.

• Using etoposide may magnify your risk of developing another types of cancer, such as leukemia. Conversation with your doctor about your specific risk.

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

• It is not known whether etoposide passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. You must not breast-feed while you are using etoposide.

How must I use etoposide?

• Follow all directions on your prescription label. Do not take this medication in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended.

• Etoposide is generally given as part of a 4-day or 5-day treatment cycle each 3 or 4 weeks. Follow your doctor's dosing instructions very carefully.

• Take this medication with a full glass of water.

• Do not interrupt or open the etoposide capsule. Do not use a pill that has been accidentally broken.

• The medication from a broken capsule can be dangerous if it gets in your eyes, mouth, or nose, or on your skin. If this occurs, wash your skin with soap and water or rinse your eyes with water. Wear disposable rubber gloves when you handle a etoposide capsule. Throw the gloves away after one use.

• Etoposide 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.

• Store etoposide capsules in the refrigerator, do not freeze.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Call your doctor for instructions if you miss a doze of etoposide.

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 taking etoposide?

• 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.

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

• Avoid activities that may magnify your risk of bleeding or injury. Use extra care to prevent bleeding while shaving or brushing your teeth.

• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using etoposide. The vaccine may not work as well during this time, and may not fully protect you from malady. 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 etoposide?

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

• Call your doctor at once if you have:

· fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, sores in your mouth and throat;

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

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

· upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);

· vision problems;

· seizure (convulsions);

· sudden chest pain or discomfort, wheezing, dry cough or hack; or

· severe skin reaction -- fever, sore throat, swelling in your person or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain, followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the person or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.

• General side effects may include:

· nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;

· diarrhea, constipation;

· trouble swallowing;

· unusual or unpleasant taste in your mouth;

· numbness or tingly feeling;

· mild itching or skin rash; or

· temporary hair loss.

• 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 etoposide?

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

· cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune).

• This list is not complete. Another drugs may interact with etoposide, 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 doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about etoposide.

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.

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