Folinic acid (leucovorin or calcium folinate)

Folinic acid is usually given by a chemotherapy nurse alongside your treatment in hospital.

During your course of treatment, you will meet with someone from your cancer team, such as a:

• cancer doctor
• chemotherapy nurse or specialist nurse
• specialist pharmacist.

This is who we mean when we mention doctor, nurse or pharmacist in this information.

Before or on the day of each treatment, you will have a blood test. This is to check that it is safe for you to have the chemotherapy part of your treatment.

You will meet with a doctor, nurse or pharmacist before you have chemotherapy. They will talk to you about your blood results and ask how you have been feeling. If your blood results are okay, the pharmacist team will prepare your chemotherapy.

You will have folinic acid through 1 of the following:

• a cannula – a short, thin tube the nurse puts into a vein in the arm or hand
• a central line – a fine tube that goes under the skin of the chest and into a vein close by
• a PICC line – a fine tube that is put into a vein in the arm and goes up into a vein in the chest
• an implantable port (portacath) – a disc that is put under the skin on the chest or arm and goes into a vein in the chest.

You may also have folinic acid as a tablet. Before you leave hospital, the nurse or pharmacist will give you the tablets to take at home. It is important to take your tablets exactly as explained. This is to make sure they work as well as possible for you.

Your cancer team may also give you anti-sickness drugs and other medicines to take home. Take all your capsules or tablets exactly as they tell you to.

Your doctor, nurse or pharmacist will give you 24-hour contact numbers for the hospital. If you feel unwell or need advice, you can call at any time of the day or night. Save these numbers in your phone or keep them somewhere safe.

Cancer and some cancer treatments can increase the risk of a blood clot. Contact the hospital straight away on the 24-hour number if you have any of these symptoms during or after treatment:

• throbbing pain or swelling in a leg or arm
• reddening of the skin in the area – if you have black or brown skin, this can be harder to notice, but the skin might become darker
• suddenly feeling breathless or coughing.

Always call 999 if you have:

• chest pain
• difficulty breathing.

A blood clot is serious, but it can be treated with drugs called anticoagulants. These thin the blood. Your doctor, nurse or pharmacist can give you more information about preventing and treating blood clots.

Some medicines can affect how this treatment works or be harmful while you are having it. Always tell your cancer doctor, nurse or pharmacist about any drugs you are taking or planning to take, such as: 

• medicines you have been prescribed
• medicines you buy in a shop, pharmacy or online
• vitamins or supplements 
• herbal drugs and complementary or homeopathic therapies
• recreational drugs – for example, cannabis.

This treatment may contain lactose. If you have a lactose allergy or intolerance, ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist for more information.

You are advised not to breastfeed while having this treatment, or for some time after treatment ends. This is because the drugs could be passed to the baby through breast milk. 

Your doctor, nurse or pharmacist can give you more information.

If you need medical treatment for any reason other than cancer, always tell the healthcare professional that you are having cancer treatment. Give them the contact details for your cancer doctor or cancer team so they can ask for advice.

If you have appointments with a dentist, always tell them you are having cancer treatment. Talk to your cancer team before you have any dental treatment.