Talking With Friends and Family

A diagnosis of leukemia touches a wide circle of people, from grandparents, aunts, and uncles, to friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Many of them will share your grief and will be anxious to learn all they can about the disease and your child’s progress. Many will be eager to offer you their support, but you may need to tell them specifically what you need.

Name a Spokesperson

Many parents of a child with leukemia find that it can be draining to repeat information about your child’s condition to everyone who asks. You may want to ask a family member or friend to handle communications for you. You or a friend could record information on a home answering machine or send out email when there is news to report.

Remember Your Other Children

Family and friends may tend to focus attention on the child with leukemia at the expense of the siblings. If you have worked to make sure that your other children don’t feel slighted, it may annoy you when people ask only about the sick child, or come to your house with gifts for the sick child. Set an example by bringing up your other children in conversations (“Did you hear about Susan’s award at school?”). And tell people honestly if you prefer that they not bring gifts for only one child.

Ask for Support

When people ask if there is anything they can do, be honest. If you want someone to talk to, let them know. But if you’re pressed for time and you’d really prefer to have a few minutes alone, ask them if they can run an errand for you. Mention unconventional ways to help. For instance, a family member who travels frequently may be able to donate frequent flier miles to a distant family member who has the time but not the money to help. Above all, work with close family members to establish open lines of communication so that everyone knows how they can help.

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How Clolar is Used

Clolar is a type of medication to treat children, ages 1 to 21 with a type of leukemia called relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), after at least 2 other treatment attempts have failed. Clolar can reduce the number of leukemia cells in the blood. At this time we do not know if Clolar will help a child with ALL live longer or cure him or her of the cancer.

Important Safety Information for Patients

Serious side effects

Clolar can cause serious side effects that include:

• Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/capillary leak syndrome (CLS). Signs include fast breathing, fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, and difficulty breathing. These signs should be reported to the physician right away, as SIRS and CLS can be life-threatening if not treated right way. If your child experiences clinically significant signs of SIRS or CLS, your physician should stop Clolar immediately and consider giving your child steroids, diuretics, and albumin. When your child has stabilized, Clolar can be continued, usually at a lower dose.
• Bone marrow suppression and infection. Clolar can stop your child’s bone marrow from making enough red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Serious side effects can result from this, and include severe infection (sepsis), bleeding, and anemia.
• Effects on pregnancy and breastfeeding. Females should not become pregnant or breastfeed during treatment with Clolar because Clolar may harm the baby.

Other side effects

The most common side effects with Clolar are stomach problems (including vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea), and effects on blood cells (including low red and white blood cells count, low platelet count, fever, and infection). A fast heartbeat has been noted in some patients taking Clolar. Clolar can also affect the liver and kidneys. For these reasons, your child’s healthcare professional will do blood tests to monitor his or her blood cells, kidney function, and liver function.

Treatment with Clolar quickly reduces the number of leukemia cells in your child’s blood. For this reason, your doctor should monitor your child for signs and symptoms of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), as well as signs and symptoms of cytokine release, which can develop into SIRS, CLS, and organ problems. Your doctor is encouraged to give continuous IV fluids throughout the five days of Clolar treatment to reduce certain side effects. Your doctor may also prescribe allopurinol to reduce the build-up of uric acid that occurs with TLS. Your doctor should stop the Clolar treatment if your child develops low blood pressure for any reason during the five days of treatment.

Please speak with your healthcare professional if you have questions about Clolar. Also, please see full prescribing information.