BEP
You usually have a course of several cycles of treatment over a few months. The length of your treatment and number of cycles you have will depend on the type and stage of cancer being treated. Your doctor or nurse will discuss your treatment plan with you. They may give you a copy of a treatment plan to take home with you.
BEP can be given in different ways. We describe 2 ways you may have it. Your doctor or nurse will be able to give you details of your treatment course.
Three-day BEP:
On day 1 and 2 the nurse will give you:
- cisplatin as an infusion
- etoposide as an infusion.
On day 2 the nurse will also give you:
- bleomycin as an infusion or as an injection into a muscle.
On day 3 the nurse will give you:
- etoposide as an infusion.
Sometimes, bleomycin is given on day 1 instead of day 2.
If you are having BEP as an outpatient, you can usually go home after each day of chemotherapy. If you are having BEP as an inpatient, you can usually go home after the chemotherapy on the third day.
Around 1 week after you started the cycle (day 8 or 9), you have bleomycin again. You then have a rest week with no chemotherapy. The bleomycin is given again on day 15 or 16. There is another rest week with no chemotherapy. Your nurse will explain which days you will have the treatment on.
This completes what is called a cycle of your chemotherapy treatment. Each cycle takes 21 days.
At the end of the 21 days, you start your second cycle of BEP. This is the same as the first cycle.
Your doctor or nurse will tell you the number of cycles you are likely to have.
Five-day BEP:
On day 1 and 2 the nurse will give you:
- cisplatin as an infusion
- etoposide as an infusion.
On day 2 the nurse will also give you:
- bleomycin as an infusion or as an injection into a muscle.
On days 3, 4 and 5 the nurse will give you:
- cisplatin as an infusion
- etoposide as an infusion.
Sometimes, bleomycin is given on day 1 instead of day 2.
If you are having BEP as an outpatient, you can usually go home after each day of chemotherapy. If you are having BEP as an inpatient, you can usually go home after the chemotherapy on the fifth day.
Around 1 week after you started the cycle (day 8 or 9), you have bleomycin again. You then have a rest week with no chemotherapy. The bleomycin is given again on day 15 or 16. You then have another rest week with no chemotherapy. Your nurse will explain which days you will have the treatment on.
This completes what is called a cycle of your chemotherapy treatment. Each cycle takes 21 days.
At the end of the 21 days, you start your second cycle of BEP. This is the same as the first cycle.
Your doctor or nurse will tell you the number of cycles you are likely to have.
