Sarah McGoram, President of Patient Voice Initiative, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I spent Friday in the cancer centre getting an iron infusion. The patient who sat across from me has an ultra rare cancer (1 in one million rare cancer) His cancer is getting treated with a very common breast cancer drug costing him $4000 a month. He has to pay $4000 because despite evidence that it will treat his cancer type, the cancer is located in a different part of his body.
The burden of managing his disease, reduced income, extra pressure on his family and finding $4000 a month is a significant burden for anyone to face. It’s so sad and is unfair.
It’s no surprise there were rare cancer patients amongst the 4 of us, because 1 in 4 cancers in Australia are rare. 42000 diagnosed every year.
The strong case for reform has been made over many years, many reviews and inquiries – now it’s time for action. Rare cancer patients are paying the price and time is critical. Many patients don’t have much time to wait. The decision to treat a person’s cancer should be based on clinical decisions – not based on a patient’s ability to pay.”
Other articles on OncoDaily.