TACKLING CROHN’S DISEASE
High-priced drug brings farmer relief
For close to 40 years, Len Fitch hoped for a treatment for his Crohn’s disease.
But the 72-year-old Woodslee farmer discovered the limited treatments available are not onesize-fits-all. Fitch tried promising treatments for Crohn’s only to be disappointed. It wasn’t until he joined a clinical study in 2010 for a new drug called Entyvio that his nightmare ended.
“I tried the drug and immediately I felt better,” he said. “There is no disease in my bowels at all anymore. It really was a nightmare for so many years.”
Entyvio is an intravenous drug used in adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease inflames the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and disrupts the body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and eliminate waste in a healthy manner. It’s a chronic and lifelong disease commonly diagnosed in patients at a very young age.
Eric Thomson, manager of public policy and stakeholder relations at Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, said Entyvio is one of a few biologic treatments that directly targets the GI tract to help control damaging inflammation. Thomson said treatments for Crohn’s are difficult because its cause is unclear.
“Because there are so few successful treatments, when a new one comes on the market it really means a lot to people,” he said. “For many, there is a lot of stress and anxiety over whether they can find a drug. They’ve been disappointed so many times.”
For Fitch, Entyvio eased the painful symptoms of Crohn’s. But Entyvio isn’t cheap — the treatment costs $3,000 every four weeks.
Fitch’s personal nightmare started in 1974 when he was 29 years old. He had pain throughout his body and severe, debilitating headaches. The pain was so severe it was difficult to move his legs. He was losing weight rapidly, dropping to 125 pounds from 190.
“I was pretty much skin and bones and doctor’s didn’t seem to know what was happening,” Fitch said. “I looked pretty bad. I felt awful. My family thought I was dying.”
Doctors in Windsor couldn’t make a diagnosis, so Fitch headed to Detroit. Within days, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. He underwent surgery to remove a big portion of his large bowel.
Following surgery, he would try different treatments only to be disappointed. Every five years since 1991, he would need surgery to remove more of his large bowel. “It was incredibly frustrating,” he said.
Today, he only has one foot of his large bowel left, but most of his small bowel is still intact. The small bowel is the part of the gastrointestinal tract between the stomach and large intestine and is responsible for the absorption of food.
Fitch has become more involved with the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, often speaking to audiences about his personal struggle with the disease.
“I like to think that I’m doing something to help people, but it’s also helped me too,” he said. “It’s been a very positive thing for me. I don’t want to say I thought I was dying, but it really was tough. I never thought I’d be sitting here and telling you I’m disease-free.”
Thomson said having success stories like Fitch’s helps others fight through a disease where treatments are so limited.
“Anyone who’s diagnosed with this disease is just grasping for answers and some security that there is a chance for success,” Thomson said.
“For Crohn’s patients, remission is their goal, especially since there is no cure for the disease.”