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Or perhaps a country with a national medical program? https://www.gofundme.com/StephenSykes https://www.gofundme.com/StephenSykes "Unfortunatey, the cost of t

Or perhaps a country with a national medical program? https://www.gofundme.com/StephenSykes https://www.gofundme.com/StephenSykes "Unfortunatey, the cost of the drug is above the NHS funding threshold. It is not therefore available on prescription and the Consultants have told us that we will need to raise the funds required to purchase the treatment that Stephen needs to give him the real prospect of becoming well again."

azernik 9y ago
Insulin is a much cheaper intervention than that.
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kalleboo 9y ago
Every healthcare system rationalizes spending. The US system lets low income people die because they can't afford something as basic as insulin. The NHS rationalizes on £90,000 recently-out-of-trial cancer treatments.
stordoff 9y ago
If I'm reading the papers correctly, PD-1 inhibition for Hodgkin's Lymphoma appears to be a particularly early treatment[0]. I doubt "the cost of the drug is above the NHS funding threshold" is a wholly accurate statement, as factors beyond just cost of treatment are involved (the NHS/NICE will approved costly treatments if they are effective and the only available treatment). I'm struggling to find the NICE report (assuming there is one), as the drug in question is not named. [0] See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210230/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210230/ from January 2017: "[M]ajor issues such as timing and sequencing, treatment duration and synergistic combinatory approaches remain to be resolved. Furthermore, long-term efficacy outcomes and potential development of late toxicities in lymphoma patients are still poorly defined."
mehwoot 9y ago
He has undergone six different chemo therapies since then but none have been successful. His Consultants have concluded that he is now in a position where his only hope of reducing the cancer enough to be able to receive a life saving stem cell transplant is to treat him with a new type of drug called a PD1 blocker. Kind of different to needing insulin, isn't it

azernik 9y ago

Insulin is a much cheaper intervention than that.

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kalleboo 9y ago

Every healthcare system rationalizes spending. The US system lets low income people die because they can't afford something as basic as insulin. The NHS rationalizes on £90,000 recently-out-of-trial cancer treatments.

stordoff 9y ago

If I'm reading the papers correctly, PD-1 inhibition for Hodgkin's Lymphoma appears to be a particularly early treatment[0]. I doubt "the cost of the drug is above the NHS funding threshold" is a wholly accurate statement, as factors beyond just cost of treatment are involved (the NHS/NICE will approved costly treatments if they are effective and the only available treatment). I'm struggling to find the NICE report (assuming there is one), as the drug in question is not named. [0] See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210230/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210230/ from January 2017: "[M]ajor issues such as timing and sequencing, treatment duration and synergistic combinatory approaches remain to be resolved. Furthermore, long-term efficacy outcomes and potential development of late toxicities in lymphoma patients are still poorly defined."

mehwoot 9y ago

He has undergone six different chemo therapies since then but none have been successful. His Consultants have concluded that he is now in a position where his only hope of reducing the cancer enough to be able to receive a life saving stem cell transplant is to treat him with a new type of drug called a PD1 blocker. Kind of different to needing insulin, isn't it