Chemotherapy Drug Information
<< BackTrastuzumab
Your doctor has ordered the drug trastuzumab to help treat your illness. The drug is given by injection into a vein. This medication is used to treat metastatic breast cancer. Trastuzumab is in a class of drugs known as monoclonal antibodies. Antibodies are substances that the body produces to help fight infection or other foreign particles. Trastuzumab recognizes and attaches to certain cancer cells. The body's immune system can recognize and kill the cancer cells to which trastuzumab are attached. 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 administering trastuzumab,
- Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had heart disease, asthma, or emphysema and if you have ever had radiation treatment.
- Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. You should not plan to have children while receiving chemotherapy or for a while after treatments. (Talk to your doctor for more details.) Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy.
Side effects from trastuzumab are common and usually occur while the drug is being infused. Your doctor may stop your treatment or may give you medications to treat these symptoms. They include:
- chills or shaking chills
- nausea
- vomiting
- pain at tumor site or in the abdomen or back
- shortness of breath
- muscle weakness or stiffness
- rash
- headache
Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or last for several hours:
- loss of appetite
- diarrhea
- sleeplessness
- headache
- fatigue
- abdominal pain
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- swelling of the feet or ankles
- rapid heartbeat
- difficulty breathing