Chemotherapy Drug Information
<< BackDacarbazine
Your doctor has ordered the drug dacarbazine to help treat your illness. The drug is given by injection into a vein. Dacarbazine slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in your body. 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.
Before taking dacarbazine,
- tell your doctor if you have or have ever had liver disease.
- you should know that dacarbazine may interfere with the normal menstrual cycle (period) in women and may stop sperm production in men. However, you should not assume that you cannot get pregnant or that you cannot get someone else pregnant. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should tell their doctors before they begin taking this drug. You should not plan to have children while receiving chemotherapy or for a while after treatments. (Talk to your doctor for further details.) Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Dacarbazine may harm the fetus.
- do not have any vaccinations (e.g., measles or flu shots) without talking to your doctor.
Side effects from dacarbazine are common and include:
- nausea and vomiting
- loss of appetite
- flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, weakness, muscle aches, headache, and stuffy nose within 7 days of treatment
- fatigue
If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- pain at the injection site
- tingling, burning sensation while the drug is being administered
- cough
- sore throat
- dizziness