Cancer Resources
Featured Centers
- Eating Out? Cut Calories, Heartburn
- 5 Good Ways to Save Money on Medicine
- 8 Ways to Treat Your Allergies
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells anywhere in a body. The abnormal cells are termed cancer cells, malignant cells, or tumor cells. Many cancers and the abnormal cells that compose the cancer tissue are further identified by the name of the tissue that the abnormal cells originated from (for example, breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer). Cancer is not confined to humans; animals and other living organisms can get cancer. Below is a schematic that shows normal cell division and how when a cell is damaged or altered without repair to its system, the cell usually dies. Also shown is what can occur when such damaged or unrepaired cells do not die and become cancer cells and proliferate with uncontrolled growth; a mass of cancer cells develop. Frequently, cancer cells can break away from this original mass of cells, travel through the blood and lymph systems, and lodge in other organs where they can again repeat the ...
|
|
This drug should not be used with the following medication because a very serious interaction may occur: gemfibrozil.
If you are currently using the medication listed above, tell your doctor or pharmacist before starting bexarotene.
Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription/herbal products you may use, especially of: drugs to treat diabetes (e.g., insulin, sulfonylureas such as glipizide), tamoxifen, vitamins/supplements that contain vitamin A, drugs affecting liver enzymes that remove bexarotene from your body (e.g., azole antifungals such as itraconazole/ketoconazole, macrolide antibiotics such as clarithromycin/erythromycin, cimetidine, rifamycins including rifabutin, St. John's wort, certain anti-seizure medicines such as phenytoin/phenobarbital).
This medication may decrease the effectiveness of hormonal-type birth control pills. This can result in pregnancy. You may need to use an additional form of reliable birth control while using this medication. (See also Warning section.) Consult your doctor or pharmacist for details.
This medication may interfere with certain laboratory tests (including CA-125 levels), possibly causing false test results. Make sure laboratory personnel and all your doctors know you use this drug. Consult your doctor for more details.
This document does not contain all possible interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share the list with your doctor and pharmacist.
OVERDOSE: If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. US residents should call the US National Poison Hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Canada residents should call a provincial poison control center.
NOTES: Do not share this medication with others.
Laboratory and/or medical tests (e.g., pregnancy tests, liver/thyroid tests, cholesterol/triglyceride levels, white blood count) should be performed periodically to monitor your progress or check for side effects. Consult your doctor for more details.
MISSED DOSE: If you miss a dose, take it with a meal as soon as you remember. If it is near the time of the next dose, skip the missed dose and resume your usual dosing schedule. Do not double the dose to catch up.
STORAGE: Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature between 36-77 degrees F (2-25 degrees C) away from light and moisture. Do not store in the bathroom. Keep all medicines away from children and pets.
Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into a drain unless instructed to do so. Properly discard this product when it is expired or no longer needed. Consult your pharmacist or local waste disposal company for more details about how to safely discard your product.
MEDICAL ALERT: Your condition can cause complications in a medical emergency. For information about enrolling in MedicAlert, call 1-800-854-1166 (USA) or 1-800-668-1507 (Canada).
Information last revised May 2010 Copyright(c) 2010 First DataBank, Inc.
Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Get the latest treatment options.