Pensioner must wait months for vital cancer medication
A MAN suffering with cancer will have to wait until November to access a lifeextending drug which was approved by the Government as far back as July.
Despite assurances that Sligo man Peter Milne, 65, who suffers from renal cell cancer, would be able to ‘speedily’ access the vital but costly drug under the new reimbursement scheme announced by Health Minister Simon Harris, it has yet to be made available.
Peter’s wife, Bernie Marron, took to the airwaves yesterday from her husband’s bedside in St Vincent’s Hospital, to beg the Government for action.
Ms Marron said that the pair ‘cried with relief’ in July when Opdivo (nivolumab) was approved for the reimbursement scheme – the drug costs anywhere from €100,000 to €140,000 a year – but were left none the wiser on its availability.
However, last night, the Department of Heath confirmed to the Irish Daily Mail that the drug would not be available for treatment until November 1 of this year, when it ‘expects’ it to be included in the reimbursement scheme.
Ms Marron, speaking to the Mail, said that ‘while I welcome any date I would also welcome something more concrete in the statement than the word “expect’’.’
She added: ‘[Minister] Simon Harris promised speedy provision in July. If he thinks that speedy provision for a cancer patient is four months he does not understand cancer.
‘Peter was told that November was too long for him. That doesn’t mean that Peter would be dead, it means that he might not be able to get this treatment as he might be unsuitable for it because the cancer would progress.
‘The doctors didn’t know why the delay happened at all.
‘We have had fantastic support from TDs and the community but four months isn’t speedy. There must be people out there unable to bridge the four-month gap for whom it may be too late.
‘There is a relief that there is a date but I don’t understand why it can’t be October 1.
‘We have celebrated prematurely before, so we are holding back until we see that date in writing. I’ve seen what two weeks of cancer can do, months of it is a long, long time.’
Peter, a retired teacher, has regularly fundraised for cancer research through mountainclimbing and community events.
Before the date was confirmed to the Mail, an emotional Bernie told Joe Duffy on RTÉ’s Liveline that the July announcement gave them a ‘fantastic feeling’ after the agony of being kept in limbo.
‘We cried with relief, it was a really fantastic feeling. I don’t know why it isn’t available now.
‘The Minister said that speedy provision was a priority and he put that out in July.
‘Four months isn’t speedy’ ‘I’ve seen what two weeks can do’
‘But with cancer, “priority” means now. There was a vague statement in the Dáil about the coming weeks. How many weeks? We haven’t got weeks,’ she said.
‘Peter has renal cell carcinoma. We’re in a situation now that he has tumors growing on his bronchus – the entrance into his lungs. So, basically, if we don’t do something they’ll block his lungs and he can’t breathe.
‘Every day makes a difference. There are probably people in Dublin, Galway and Cork in my position, in Peter’s position; waiting to get a hold of something to save the lives of the people they love,’ Ms Marron said, crying.
‘It’s clinically approved and it feels a little bit like one of those dreams that you’re trying to save someone and it feels like I’m reaching out for Peter and I can’t quite reach him because the drug is here and he can’t have it.
‘He’s very tired; he’s breathless and coughing up blood, which is difficult, obviously, to see. It’s five years of extra life [for Peter].’
The Department Health confirmed the date of November 1 to the Mail yesterday.
A spokesman said: ‘The Minister has requested that all relevant processes in relation to this medicine be concluded as a priority, so as to enable commencement of this treatment. The Minister is very aware of the particular circumstances of this case and would like to see an interim solution found.’