So, you may have heard this nasty gossip, there is a shortage of chemo drugs as well as other drugs like antibiotics and anesthesia. From what I can gather it is primarily in the US and Canada this is occurring but could have an impact world wide. Simplistic explanation is the pharmaceutical companies don't seem to make enough money on them so they decrease production or stop production. A number of years ago there was legislation where the intent for generic drugs was so that everyone could afford whatever drug that was needed to cure their issue. The problem has become that the generic drugs are not supporting themselves. The costs involved to keep these drugs in productivity exceeded the price sold or profit margins were so slim. The name brand drugs still are produced continue to create a large profit but insurance companies refuse to pay for these more expensive drugs and will only cover generic drugs. A nasty cycle and the loser is the patient. That loser is anyone you know who is fighting cancer and that happened to be me on my last infusion on Thursday 8/11/11.
Never thought this would affect me but it did. My last infusion, there was no Taxol to be had. I had to take a cousin of it for me to complete my regime on time. I was offered to put off my infusion for a week or two but there was no way I was going to do that. Why risk it not being there. What I suspect could have happened was, my dose was given to someone else who was just starting their regime. Me, being weakened already, the cousin medicine would work just as effective on me. So now the decision of who gets the medicine or not is determined by the Dr. and how well he/she can ration what they have.
So think about it, what is the moral obligation of a pharmaceutical company to continue to provide life saving medicines that are losing money or not generating profits that meet their goals? Well, there is nothing other then their sense of morals. No one can force a company to make a drug even though it saves lives. That is a scary thought. I am for free enterprise but this almost seems to have a sense of darkness to it or maybe a tinge of blackmail....."I'll make this drug if you (FDA) do this for me" There is legislation going forward now that the goal is to have the pharmaceutical companies notify the FDA of a possible shortage well before it happens so the FDA can work with other companies to fill the void. Will this concept work? Maybe, but it still is based on the all mighty dollar and where a profit can be made. What happens if all the other companies don't want to pick up the slack?
So this goes back to the insurance companies now. Would this be such a big problem if they covered all prescribed drugs, generic and name brand? What needs to be done is a revision of the The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. Read about it in the 2nd article below. This would allow a more level playing ground for these drugs. This Act was a good idea but it's time has come. It needs to go or be radically modified. Less government intervention on pricing and your basic economy class in college comes into play. People are willing to pay a high price to get what they want (name brand drugs) but at some price point, they don't. This holds the pricing down on these drugs. As for the generic, same thing. People (or in this case insurance companies) are willing to pay a certain price and whoever can produce the drug at the least cost or lowest profit margin sells more. Profit margin smaller/lower price=sells more. Higher price/greater profit margin/sells less. Take your pick...which business scenario do you want?
Here are a few links to the current concern. How are they going to fix the supply? Well, their not for quite a while. So be forewarned...ask your Dr. will this shortage have an impact on your regime.
Huffington Post Article Explains the basis of the shortage.
Article that explains how government's best intentions have caused this shortage of drugs
Keep me company as I travel thru my journey facing breast cancer again.
Why would anyone want to read about someone else's problem when you have plenty of your own? Maybe one day a loved one, a friend, or you will be diagnosed with breast cancer. My blog might offer insite into cancer resources, thoughts, questions to ask, or guidance in helping you deal with this disease. These are my experiences and suggestions. Every breast cancer is different. If you are touched by breast cancer, be sure to consult your Dr. for direction in treatment.
I equate my blog to the emergency evacuation instruction the flight attendants do before you take off on an airplane. Nobody pays attention to them but when your plane is about to crash you think, "sh*t, why didn't I pay more attention to them? Which color cord do I pull first again?" We have so many things going on in our lives that one more thing to dwell on that doesn't apply to us right now may not be important but when it does, we wish we would have paid attention.
My blog is something you might read a couple times or maybe follow. Hopefully you gain some knowledge about breast cancer, in particular, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC). It is the 2nd most common type of invasive breast cancer however it only accounts for approx. 10% of all invasive breast cancers. It is the silent breast cancer. It is generally not detected with a mammo but rather an ultrasound. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is what I have been diagnosed with. My suggestion to every woman who is of mammo age insist on an ultrasound with your mammos.
UPDATE 3/2011
I have had my bilaterial mastectomy and I am recovering. ILC is a sneaky cancer as I said above. My various Dr.'s here and at UCSF confirmed the size of my tumor should be between 2.5cm-3.5cm with possibilty but not most likely, 7cm. After my surgery, my tumor was confirmed to be 11cm. My Dr.'s are very knowledgeable and are on top of things. This is simply the truth about ILC. I had mammos every 6 months, ultra sounds, and MRI's. With all of these, it was not picked up until 1/2011. The good news, if you can call it that, only 1 sentinel node out of 2 has micromastic findings and 5 aux. nodes were negative.
Be sure to start my adventure from the blog history on the right. I have tried to bold points to make it easier to extract the important information. If there is anything you get out of this blog, refer to my Dr.'s listed below if you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the East Bay. These Dr.'s; Dr. Gottlieb, Dr. Wotowic, and Dr. Sherman are my 3 musketeers....all for 1 and 1 for all!
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