Procrit is a manufactured form of
Erythropoietin, a naturally occuring substance that stimulates your body's production of red blood cells.
Your reaction to receiving Procrit will vary based upon several factors, including:
Specific chemo regimen, your current Erythropoietin level, as well as other factors such as overall health, and whether you have any other factors inhibiting production of red blood cells such as low iron levels.
If your erythropoietin levels are already high, Procrit is not indicated. Your anemia most likely has another cause.
In general, because of the length of time required for your body to process Erythropoietin and the time for red cells to mature, an increase in red cell count may not be seen until 2 to 6 weeks after initiation of Procrit.
Procrit has a half life of 4-13 hours, so it is absorbed and/or excreted rather quickly.
Like most other drugs, Procrit does not work 100% of the time for every person. According to the prescribing information, it generally reduces the need for transfusion by about 50% in chemo patients.
Good resources:
www.procrit.com
http://www.procrit.com/common/prescr...ritBooklet.pdf