(pem e TREX ed) Brand: Alimta
• Follow all directions on your medication label and package. Speak every of your healthcare providers about all your medical conditions, allergies, and all medicines you use.
• Pemetrexed is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.
• Pemetrexed is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer after another cancer medications have been tried without successful treatment.
• Pemetrexed is also used with other medicine called cisplatin to treat mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.
• Pemetrexed may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.
• You must not receive this medicine if you are allergic to pemetrexed.
• To create certain pemetrexed is safety for you, speak your doctor if you have:
· kidney malady (especially if you take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or another nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs);
· liver disease;
· a weak immune system; or
· excess fluid in the space near your lung, liver, or another inside organs, including pleural effusion (fluid near the lungs) or ascites (fluid near the liver).
• FDA pregnancy category D. Do not use pemetrexed if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn child. Use effective birth control to avoid pregnancy during your treatment with pemetrexed. Follow your doctor's instructions about how long to prevent pregnancy after your treatment ends.
• It is not known whether pemetrexed passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. You must not breast-feed while you are using pemetrexed.
• Pemetrexed is injected into a vein through an IV. A healthcare provider will give you this injection.
• Pemetrexed is generally given each 3 weeks. Your doctor will determine how much treatment cycles you must receive.
• To prevent determined side effects of pemetrexed, you will need to take folic acid supplements and receive vitamin B12 injections (starting 7 days till your first doze of pemetrexed). Take only the amount of folic acid that your doctor has predesigned.
• Your doctor may also prescribe steroid medicine to reduce determined side effects of pemetrexed. Follow your doctor's dosing instructions very carefully.
• Pemetrexed 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.
• Call your doctor for instructions if you miss an appointment for your pemetrexed injection.
• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
• 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 pemetrexed, 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.
• 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.
• 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:
· severe ongoing vomiting or diarrhea;
· bone marrow suppression--fever, swollen gums, painful mouth sores, cool or flu symptoms, sore throat, pale skin, light bruising or bleeding, skin sores, red or pink urine, rapid heart course, feeling light-headed or short of breath,
· kidney problems--swelling, rapid weight gain, few or no urinating;
· signs of dehydration--feeling very thirsty or hot, being unable to urinate, hard sweating, hot and dry skin; 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:
· weary feeling, loss of appetite, weight loss;
· upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
· mild rash; or
· 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.
• Pemetrexed can harm your kidneys. This effect is heighten when you also use determined another medicines, including: antivirals, chemotherapy, injected antibiotics, medication for bowel disorders, medication to prevent organ transplant rejection, injectable osteoporosis medicine, and some pain or arthritis medicines (including aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, and Aleve).
• This list is not complete. Another drugs may interact with pemetrexed, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal commodity. Not all possible interactions are listed in this medicine manual.
• Your pharmacist can provide more information about pemetrexed.
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.