An Introduction to Dosing With PROVENGE
There is only one standard dosage of
PROVENGE® (
sipuleucel-T). Each dose will be created individually for you, using your white blood cells, and cannot be used by anyone else.
As is always the case, do not adjust your dosage unless your healthcare provider specifically tells you to do so.
PROVENGE Dosage for Prostate Cancer
The standard dosage of PROVENGE for treating
prostate cancer is three doses given approximately two weeks apart. PROVENGE is dosed differently from most other medications. You will have at least two healthcare visits for each dosage of PROVENGE.
At the first visit, white blood cells (also called leukocytes) will be collected from your body using a procedure known as leukapheresis. During this procedure, blood is drawn from a blood vessel in the arm, run through a machine that removes some of the white blood cells, and then returned to the body. The white blood cells are sent away to be mixed with a protein designed to activate them against prostate cancer.
Three days later, you will have your second healthcare visit to receive your PROVENGE dose, or infusion. The infusion is given gradually and takes approximately one hour to complete. If you begin to have reactions, such as chills, fatigue, joint aches, nausea, or fever, the infusion may need to be stopped or slowed down. You will need to be monitored for at least thirty minutes after the dosage is complete, to make sure you tolerate the medication.
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