Woman dies after wait for promising drug therapy
A Russell woman who had to raise tens of thousands of dollars to pay for drugs her doctor hoped might extend her life has died.
Carolyn Pol, 51, suffered from advanced-stage melanoma, which she was diagnosed with last spring. She died this week surrounded by members of her family.
The mother of five had received some treatment, but her oncologist wanted her to try a new combination of two immunotherapy drugs, part of a revolution in cancer treatment, that she believed might extend Pol’s life.
Those drugs, although paid for by the province individually in most cases, are not covered when taken in combination. That meant Pol and her family had to raise money before she could begin the drug therapy.
By the time she did, it was too late.
Pol and her oncologist said in December they were frustrated with the situation.
“I feel like a rabbit who had carrots dangled in front of my face that I can’t get at,” Pol said at the time.
Kathy Barnard, who represents the Save Your Skin Foundation (which receives funding from drug companies that manufacture some melanoma drugs), said it is frustrating that the drug combination that might have helped Pol has been hung up in the approval stage for more than a year. She believes patients should have input into which drugs are funded.
Provincial health officials say new drug therapies — some of which run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — must be assessed carefully for value and affordability.
Pol had been receiving palliative care at home and said in December that she was “at peace with everything.”