Support For Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer

Dendreon is committed to supporting men with advanced prostate cancer.

Your PROVENGE experience

You can complete your PROVENGE treatment in as little as 1 month! PROVENGE infusion is completed in your doctor’s office.

  • Treatment with PROVENGE includes 3 doses given over approximately 4 weeks, generally every 2 weeks
  • Each dose of PROVENGE is custom made just for you. PROVENGE is created from your own immune cells, which are collected and sent to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility
  • Each specialized dose is delivered directly to your urologist or oncologist’s office. Rain or shine, by plane, train, or automobile, Dendreon strives to deliver your PROVENGE treatment on time
  • Your personalized dose of PROVENGE is then infused back into your body to activate your immune system to seek out and attack your prostate cancer
  • What can I expect before treatment with PROVENGE?
    • Preparing for treatment
    • Cell collection
  • What can I expect during treatment with PROVENGE?
    • PROVENGE treatment and the infusion process
    • Managing potential side effects
  • What can I expect after treatment with PROVENGE?
    • PROVENGE and PSA levels
  • It’s important to keep scheduled appointments

What can I expect before treatment with PROVENGE?

Before starting PROVENGE

Tell your doctor about any medical problems you have, including heart problems, lung problems, or if you have had a stroke. In addition, tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription drugs, vitamins, and dietary supplements.

Simple steps for your cell collection

  • Stay well hydrated—make sure to drink more water than usual 2 to 3 days before your treatment
  • Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages on the day of each cell collection procedure
  • Eat calcium-rich foods
  • Bring the same photo ID that you used when you first enrolled for therapy with PROVENGE
    • It is very important that the name on your ID exactly matches the labels that identify your immune cells
  • Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing, including:
    • Shirts with sleeves that can be raised above the elbow
    • Pants with a loose waistband for restroom convenience
  • Have a driver lined up for the ride home, because most men feel tired or weak after the cell collection procedure

Cell collection

  • Your cell collection, also known as leukapheresis or apheresis, will take place at a blood center with specially trained collection staff
  • Blood will be drawn from your body and passed through a machine that collects a small portion of your immune cells, along with some platelets and red blood cells. The machine returns the rest of the cells and blood to your body
    • This process is different from giving blood
    • Only about 1% of your immune cells are collected
  • Cell collection takes 3 to 4 hours, after which you are able to return home and continue your day

What can I expect during treatment?

Creating your personal PROVENGE dose

Your immune cells are sent to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to be made into a dose of PROVENGE specifically for you.

Receiving your PROVENGE infusion

  • Each dose of PROVENGE is ready about 3 days after your cell collection procedure
  • The PROVENGE infusion procedure will take place at a different location than your cell collection procedure, usually at your urologist’s or oncologist’s office
  • This infusion appointment will take about 2 hours, although the infusion itself takes only about 1 hour

Managing potential side effects

There are potential risks associated with PROVENGE:

  • In controlled clinical trials, 71.2% of patients in the PROVENGE group developed an acute infusion reaction
  • The most common events (≥ 20%) were chills, fever, and fatigue. In 95.1% of patients reporting acute infusion reactions, the reactions were mild or moderate. Fevers and chills generally resolved within 2 days (71.9% and 89%, respectively)
  • 1.5% of men discontinued their treatment with PROVENGE due to side effects

The most common side effects of PROVENGE prostate cancer treatment include:

  • Chills
  • Back pain
  • Joint ache
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Fever

PROVENGE infusion can cause serious reactions. Tell your doctor right away if:

  • You have breathing problems, chest pains, racing heart or irregular heartbeats, high or low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, nausea, or vomiting after getting PROVENGE. Any of these may be signs of heart or lung problems.
  • You develop numbness or weakness on one side of the body, decreased vision in one eye, or difficulty speaking. Any of these may be signs of a stroke.
  • You develop symptoms of thrombosis which may include: pain and/or swelling of an arm or leg with warmth over the affected area, discoloration of an arm or leg, unexplained shortness of breath, chest pain that worsens on deep breathing.
  • You get a fever over 100°F, or redness or pain at the infusion or collection sites. Any of these may be signs of infection.

These are not all the possible side effects of PROVENGE treatment. For more information, talk with your doctor. Please see Important Safety Information.

Talk to your urologist or oncologist about steps you can take to manage potential side effects.

What can I expect after treatment?

After 6 appointments total, including 3 cell collections and 3 PROVENGE infusions, your treatment with PROVENGE is complete.

Meanwhile, your immune system has been activated and has been shown to continue to seek out and attack prostate cancer after treatment has ended.

Note that changes in PSA levels are not an indication of how PROVENGE is working for you.

PSA is not a measurement of treatment efficacy. In the PROVENGE clinical trials, the main goal was not to lower PSA levels—it was to extend life.

PROVENGE helped certain men with advanced prostate cancer (mCRPC) live longer, even when their PSA did not decrease. You should share any concerns about your PSA levels with your urologist or oncologist.

Keeping scheduled appointments

It is important to keep all of your scheduled cell collection and infusion appointments and arrive prepared. Your dose of PROVENGE is custom made for you and has a short shelf life. If you miss an infusion appointment, your personal dose of PROVENGE will expire and can no longer be used. As a result, you would have to repeat the cell collection procedure so a new custom dose of PROVENGE could be manufactured.

Set appointment reminders for yourself on your calendar. You also can ask family or friends to mark your procedure dates on their calendars, so they can help remind you of appointments.

PROVENGE & You

The first and only personalized immunotherapy for mCRPC.

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You are not alone

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in America. There are many ways to connect with the large community of men undergoing a similar journey to yours. Start the PROVENGE conversation by reviewing questions for your urologist or oncologist and explore available resources, from community support groups to financial assistance. Dendreon works with your doctor when financial assistance is needed.

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