chlorambucil 2 mg tablets
Consumer Medicine Information (CMI)
What is in this leaflet
This leaflet answers some common questions about Leukeran. It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor.
All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking Leukeran against the benefits they expect it will have for you.
If you have any concerns about taking this medicine ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Keep this leaflet with the medicine.
You may need to read it again.
What Leukeran is used for
Leukeran contains chlorambucil as the active ingredient.
Leukeran belongs to a group of medicines called cytotoxics and is used to treat some types of cancer and certain blood disorders.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Leukeran has been prescribed for you.
Your doctor may have prescribed it for another reason.
This medicine is only available with a doctor's prescription.
There is no evidence that it is addictive.
Before you take it
When you must not take it
Do not take Leukeran if you have ever had an allergic reaction to:
chlorambucil
any of the tablet ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty in breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or any other parts of the body; rash, itching or hives on the skin.
Do not take Leukeran if you are planning to become pregnant or likely to father a child.
Leukeran may harm the eggs and sperm so reliable contraceptive methods must be taken to avoid pregnancy whilst you or your partner is taking this medicine.
Do not take Leukeran if you are pregnant or breast feeding unless you and your doctor have discussed the risks and benefits involved.
Do not take Leukeran after the expiry date (EXP) printed on the bottle label.
Do not take it if the bottle shows signs of having been tampered with.
If you are not sure whether you should be taking Leukeran, talk to your doctor.
Before you start to take it
Tell your doctor if you are allergic to any other medicines or any foods, dyes or preservatives.
Tell your doctor if you have or have had any of the following conditions:
recently received a vaccination with a 'live' organism vaccine
recently received radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment
are taking or likely to be taking other cytotoxic drugs
epilepsy, fits, convulsions or head trauma
liver or kidney disease.
If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell them before you start taking Leukeran.
Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor if you are taking any other medicines, including any that you buy without a prescription from your supermarket, pharmacy or health food shop.
Some medicines may be affected by Leukeran or may affect how well it works. You may need to take different amounts of your medicine or you may need to take different medicines. These include:
phenylbutazone
vaccinations with 'live' organism vaccines.
Your doctor or pharmacist has more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking this medicine.
How to take it
How much to take
Your doctor will decide what dose and for how long you will be taking Leukeran. This depends on many factors such as your weight and your response to the treatment. Your doctor may change the dose and frequency of your medicine as your condition changes.
Your doctor may order regular blood tests while you are taking Leukeran in order to monitor your blood cell count and to change your dosage if necessary.
How to take it
Swallow the tablet whole with a glass of water.
Do not break, crush or chew the tablet.
When to take it
Take your medicine daily on an empty stomach, at least one hour before or three hours after meals.
It is important to take your medicine regularly and at the same time each day
Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure of the instructions on the bottle label.
How long to take it
Continue taking Leukeran for as long as your doctor tells you.
If you forget to take it
Tell your doctor if you forget to take a dose.
Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose that you missed.
If you take too much (overdose)
Immediately telephone your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26) for advice, or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much Leukeran. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.
You may need urgent medical attention.
While you are taking it
Things you must do
Take Leukeran exactly as your doctor has prescribed.
Otherwise your doctor may think that it was not effective and change your treatment unnecessarily.
Tell any other doctors, dentists and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking Leukeran, especially if you are being started on any new medicines.
Tell your doctor immediately if you become pregnant, are trying to become pregnant or trying to father a child while taking Leukeran.
If you are about to undergo surgery or an operation, tell your doctor or surgeon that you are taking Leukeran.
Things you must not do
Do not stop taking Leukeran or change the dose without first checking with your doctor.
Do not give this medicine to anyone else, even if their symptoms seem similar to yours.
Do not use Leukeran to treat any other complaints unless your doctor tells you to.
Things to be careful of
Do not break, crush or chew the tablet.
Provided the outer coating of the tablet is intact, there is no risk in handling Leukeran tablets.
Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how Leukeran affects you.
It is unlikely that Leukeran will cause problems with your ability to drive a car or operate machinery. However, as with many other medicines, Leukeran may cause dizziness, drowsiness or tiredness in some people.
Side effects
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Leukeran.
All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical treatment if you get some of the side effects.
Ask your doctor to answer any questions you may have.
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you notice any of the following:
frequent infections such as fever, sore throat or mouth ulcers
bruising or bleeding more easily than normal, nose bleeds
unusual tiredness, being short of breath, looking pale.
The above symptoms include the more common side effects of Leukeran which may result from the drop in production of bone marrow cells.
vomiting, diarrhoea
jaundice, a yellowing of the whites of the eyes or skin
rash
fits or convulsions
persistent cough or breathlessness
numbness or weakness of the arms or legs
in women, periods may stop
in men, sperm production may be reduced or stopped.
Tell your doctor immediately, or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital if you notice any of the following allergic type symptoms:
wheezing
swelling of the lips and mouth
difficulty in breathing
severe rash
fainting.
Tell your doctor if you notice anything else that is making you feel unwell, even if you think the problems are not connected with this medicine and are not referred to in this leaflet.
Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some people.
Do not be alarmed by this list of side effects.
You may not experience any of them.
After taking it
Storage
Store Leukeran tablets in the refrigerator where the temperature is between 2 - 8°C. Do not freeze.
Keep it where young children cannot reach it.
Keep your tablets in the bottle until it is time to take them.
If you take the medicine out of the bottle, it may not keep as well.
Disposal
If your doctor tells you to stop taking Leukeran or you find that the expiry date has passed, ask your pharmacist what to do with any tablets left over.
Product description
What it looks like
Leukeran tablets are brown, film-coated, round, biconvex tablets, engraved "GX EG3"on one side and "L" on the other.
Available in bottles of 25 tablets.
Ingredients
Active ingredient:
Each tablet contains 2 mg of chlorambucil.
Inactive ingredients:
cellulose-microcrystalline
lactose anhydrous
silica-colloidal anhydrous
stearic acid
opadry YS-1-16655-A Brown (PI) tablet coating system consisting of macrogol 400, hypromellose, titanium dioxide, iron oxide yellow (CI77492) and iron oxide red (CI77491).
Leukeran tablets do not contain sucrose, gluten, tartrazine or any other azo dyes.
