Question about Filgrastim with Breast Cancer?

Question

Hello All!
I have Mestastic Breast Cancer. Breast, Nodes, and LIver infected. I have am done with my first cycle of chemo in my first round. I am on CMF regime. My white blood cell count is low and I was just put on self injections of Filgrastim. Can someone tell me a little about the drug and what it is like on it.

Thanks in advance.

:) Still Smiling and Scared out of my Mind! :) I only smile cause it makes the world wonder what or who I DID last night!! HA HA... It's my motto

Answer 1

Filgastim makes your bone marrow pump out the white blood cells needed to keep you from getting an infection. Usually the Oncologist prescribe it after chemotherapy. The chemotherapy not only kills cancer cells, but takes out all the good stuff too,
The most common side effect from Neupogen (filgastim) is joint pain after the injection. After a couple days of the injections you will have a blood count done to see if your white blood cells have gone up. When you over shoot your white blood cell count, they stop the injections and it trickles back down to normal.
While your white cell count is low, you should avoid crowds, sick people and since it is summer time, I always tell my pts to stay out and away from public pools. You dont know whats going on in the water.
Cancer RN x 12 yrs.

Answer 2

keep smiling thats about the only thing we can do....ive had 4 rounds chemo, then masectomy,then 4 more rounds then 6 weeks radation,then a chemo called herception 4-rounds .. had to stop it bc of the only side affect to it heart failure thats where im at now.. it was in 16 lymp nodes in me...This medication is used to:

decrease the chance of infection in patients with nonmyeloid cancers who receive anticancer therapy that lowers white blood cell counts.
reduce the amount of time the white blood cell counts are low and prevent the consequences of low white blood cell counts in patients with nonmyeloid cancer who receive chemotherapy that destroys bone marrow in preparation for bone marrow transplant.
mobilize hematopoietic progenitor cells into peripheral blood for collection by leukapheresis.
decrease the chance and the duration of problems due to low white blood cell counts in patients with congenital, cyclic, and idiopathic neutropenia (low white blood cell counts).

This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Filgrastim is in a class of drugs known as growth factors; it promotes the growth of white blood cells which help to fight infections. The length of treatment depends on the types of drugs you are taking, how well your body responds to them, and the type of cancer you have Filgrastim also is used to increase white blood cell counts in adults with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and to treat low white blood cell counts in adults with acute leukemia who have received chemotherapy. In patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, filgrastim is used to increase white blood cell counts or to prevent the further lowering of white blood cell counts due to the virus and/or to medication. Filgrastim has been used to increase white blood cell counts in people who do not have cancer but take medications that lower white blood cell counts.tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to filgrastim or any other drugs.
tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking, including vitamins.
tell your doctor if you have or have ever had heart disease.
tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. You should not plan to have children while receiving therapy or for a while after treatments. (Talk to your doctor for further details.) Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Filgrastim may harm the fetus.
Side effects from filgrastim are common and include:

bone pain
weakness
muscle aches
nausea
vomiting
stomach pain

Tell your doctor if the following symptom is severe or lasts for several hours:

redness, pain, and burning at the injection site

If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

skin rash
fever
chills, shaking, or nighttime sweating
trouble breathing
early fullness after eating
drowsiness
loss of appetite

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA).. oh by the way i really like your motto might take it up 2 ........ha....

Answer 3

Please see the webpages for more details on Filgrastim.