How Assistance Works
Streamlining our patient’s specialty pharmacy experience with unmatched full-service convenience
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1. Check Your Coverage/Benefits Verification
Our team of expert billers finds the best avenues of coverage that minimize out-of-pocket costs.
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2. Transfer Prescription to AmeriPharma™
We process your prescription by working with your previous pharmacy or prescriber, making the transition quick and easy.
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3. Prior Authorization
Our team of specialists obtains approval from your insurance companies within 24 to 72 hours.
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4. Copay Assistance & Financial Aid
We secure financial aid and decrease copays, out-of-pocket expenses, and high deductibles. To date, AmeriPharma™ Specialty Care has secured $55 million in financial assistance for our patients.
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5. Nursing Care Coordination
AmeriPharma™ puts your schedule and home environment first when scheduling and coordinating one of our specialized nurses for your in-home infusions.
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6. Delivery Coordination
Medications are always delivered in strict compliance with the specific requirements for shipping. Next-day and overnight cold-chain deliveries are coordinated around your schedule.
What Is Hycamtin?
Hycamtin is also known by its generic name, topotecan hydrochloride. It is a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer, This medication is used both alone and with other drugs. While Hycamtin is safe in adults, there is not enough research to determine if children can safely and effectively use the medication.
Cancer occurs when “normal” cells replicate uncontrolled. Because they appear to be normal cells to the body, the immune system does not know to attack them. Hycamtin and other chemotherapy drugs damage the DNA or RNA that is giving the direction to copy itself at the cellular level. When the cells cannot replicate, they die.
Hycamtin is a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor derived from a plant. These drugs stop the DNA for cell replication and division by manipulating the enzymes responsible for it.
What Is Hycamtin Used To Treat?
Based on the type of cancer, the dosage and applications for Hycamtin are different. The most common cancers treated with this medication include the following:
- Cervical cancer: Hycamtin is used in combination with other drugs in a 21-day cycle and injected intravenously 3 days in a row for 30 minutes for each treatment.
- Small cell lung cancer: Hycamtin is used for 5 consecutive days of treatment for 30 minutes each day during a 21-day cycle. It is administered intravenously.
- Ovarian cancer: Hycamtin is used for 5 consecutive days of treatments for 30 minutes each day of a 21-day cycle.
These are just general guidelines for the medication. A medical professional should always determine the diagnosis and treatment process when using Hycamtin.
Copay and Financial Assistance
AmeriPharma™ Specialty Care alleviates financial burdens for patients and their families
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Advanced software locates funding sources to match you with top-dollar foundation programs
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One of our copay assistance specialists will assist with the application process
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Automatic updates will be sent to you and your physician on the status of the funding
Directions for the Use of Hycamtin
Patients should only take Hycamtin as prescribed. Oral medication is available, and patients should take capsules whole. Anyone who handles the medication should wash their hands immediately.
Treatment is also given through injection.
While patients are taking Hycamtin, healthcare professionals closely monitor blood and lab work to determine when levels have hit a point where treatment should stop.
Hycamtin Side Effects
While most people do not experience extreme side effects, it is important to be aware of them. Many times, side effects are predictable in both duration and onset, and many go away after treatment. Other medications can help prevent or minimize side effects.
Low blood counts are one of the most common side effects of Hycamtin. While under treatment, red and white blood cells temporarily decrease, which affects the body’s ability to fight off infection or stop bleeding in the case of an injury.
The most common side effects include the following:
- Diarrhea
- Hair loss
- Vomiting and nausea
Only 10% – 29% of the patients who receive Hycamtin deal with the following, less common side effects:
- Fatigue and weakness
- Cough, headache, or fever
- Shortness of breath
- Rash and mouth sores
- Abdominal or bone pain
- Poor appetite
Patients should inform healthcare providers about any of the following side effects, and should seek emergency care at any time of the night or day if any of the following occur:
- Bleeding that will not stop
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Chills or a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher
The following are not emergency symptoms but do require medical treatment. Patients should contact their healthcare provider within one day of the onset of any of the following:
- Unusual bruising or bleeding
- Signs of dehydration or inability to drink or eat for 24 hours
- Nausea or vomiting that affects the ability to function or take medication
- Blood in the stool, black or tarry stools
- Fatigue that makes it hard to carry on with other activities
- Ulcers, swelling, or painful redness in the mouth
Patients can fight some of the side effects of Hycamtin by practicing some self-care, but some side effects are inevitable during treatment. Patients who are using Hycamtin are likely to benefit more from the medication than they are to suffer from the side effects.
Insurances Accepted
We accept Medicare, multi-state Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Blue Shield, and most private insurances. Call us to find out more about your coverage.
Get Started in Minutes
Fill out your information and one of our specialists will call you ASAP.
How Much Can You Save?
Speak with a copay assistance specialist
(877) 778-0318
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