Cancer fundraiser welcomes funding of vital cancer drug
THE family of a local cancer patient and fundraiser has welcomed the HSE’s decision to fund a new drug to treat kidney cancer.
Peter Milne was told by his cancer specialist last April that he needed Nivolumab to control his kidney cancer after another drug stopped working.
His family faced an anxious three months trying to raise awareness in political circles after the HSE initially told them they couldn’t afford to pay for that and eight other new drugs.
Peter’s wife Bernie Marron told The Sligo Champion that while they were “delighted” with the breakthrough last Friday that the HSE would in fact fund Nivolumab, she is warning against complacency.
“Peter was delighted with the news. I hope that it’s implemented fast. They’ve mentioned 1st September. A lot of families around the country have breathed a sigh of relief but there are people who will fall through the cracks. I just hope they don’t drag their feet on this,” she said.
“Once we know the drug is safe, it’s been trialled on people safely, it should be now. We can’t be complacent. Implementation has to be swift and in a timely fashion,” she added.
The Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, said he had asked that the issue be resolved as a matter of urgency, so that patients were not adversely affected.
Minister Harris added that “the speedy provision of these nine treatments is a priority, and I expect the HSE to conclude all the necessary processes - clinical, commercial and legal - as a matter of priority, to ensure that clinicians and patients have access to these treatment options as soon as possible.”
The drug is estimated to cost in the region of 100,000-140,000 per annum.
It’s not a cure, it’s a life-extending drug. Last week Bernie told this newspaper that the idea that was a drug that could give Peter more time and he couldn’t have it was “heart-breaking.”
Nivolumab was recently approved for use by the HSE and deemed effective to treat kidney cancer such as that which Peter suffers from.
Peter has been switched to a different brand of the same drug he was on that stopped working for him in April but his family did not have high expectations that would work.
The retired drama teacher had a cancerous kidney removed in 2008 but the cancer resurfaced in 2014 and he has been receiving ongoing treatment for terminal cancer ever since -and raising thousands of euro for Sligo Cancer Support Centre. For his wife Bernie and two grown children, every moment gained for Peter’s life is precious.