Friday, December 17, 2010

Drug Controversy

There was a little tidbit on the news this morning that the FDA is going to revoke its approval for the drug Avastin. They indicated that the side effects of the drug do not outweight the benefits and that the clinical trails indicate that this drug "failed to show it prolonged life among brest cancer patients." This is contrary to the study that I read when I was first put on this drug and where the studies showed remarkable results. If FDA revokes its approval, it would no longer be covered by insurance and would cost thousands of dollars out of pocket if the patient and their physician want to continue on the drug. All is not lost though, the drug company has 15 days to appeal the decision. This drug is my only hope. It is the only drug which crosses the blood-brain barrier and has a chance at fighting this tumor in my brain. It has showed results in my case, my small tumor is all but gone and I planned on using Avastin to fight the rest of this tumor back. This is not good news for me, so hopefully the drug company can get an appeal through so that for us patients where this is a last chance drug can continue to use it. Say your prayers, this is a real setback for cancer patients.

There has also been some controvery on the effectiveness of Zometa, the bone strengthening drug that I am on, but initial reports indicate that current users may not be affected. There are other drugs that work like Zometa, so there are other options, but with Avastin, there is no other option. Avastin is a unique drug that actually gets into the brain where other drugs cannot go.

So this has me concerned about my current treatment, a treatment I believed in my heart would work against this current spread. Alot is also going on in my life with my health insurance which is got me reeling, praying I can find coverage to bridge the gap between when my Cobra ends and when my Medicare kicks in. I cannot go without insurance and there is going to be a gap in coverage later in Spring. I am planning on meeting with an insurance agent in March to start looking at my options. I was going to appeal the social security disability date to close the gap in coverage, but it will take 18 months to appeal. Hell, in 18 months I won't need the appeal, I'll be without my Cobra and not eligible for Medicare yet. What a mess. So I just put my faith in God that what will be will be and that somehow this will all work out for the best. But to say all these issues aren't causing me a bit of stress would be a lie. I am going to do the best I can to try to just ride it out and keep the faith.

We recheduled Peyton's wisdom tooth extraction. She really doesn't want to miss New Years Eve, and I can't really blame her. Mason plays that night and it is always a big game. I don't blame her for wanting to be a part of it. So she is now scheduled for Jan. 20th after I get back from my breast cancer retreat. I didn't want to miss that either but I have to be here to take care of my daughter after this surgery. I am sure this procedure has come a long way since I was 18 so hopefully it will be a tolerable experience.

So challenges await. We'll know more next time we meet with Rado, but I will go under the assumption that I will continue on this drug as long as I can. I don't see any options out there that work with my stage and type of cancer, so this is my hope. I will keep on as long as I can. Say your prayers that this controvery gets worked out and that those of us who are on it and it is working will continue to be able to take the drug. That's the best we can do.