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Subscribe to RSSWe report tonight about concerns that in the bad economy some people are cutting back or stopping taking expensive cancer drugs -- often with disastrous consequences. We concentrate on one drug: Gleevec which costs about $4500 a month and must be taken for life as a treatment either for one type of leukemia called CML and one type of intestinal cancer called GIST.
But it is important to point out that Gleevec is not the only expensive cancer drug. It is one of a host of drugs that have come on the market in recent years that fall in the category called biologics. As opposed to traditional treatments they are molecules or proteins that attack specific targets within the cancer cells. Some (and Gleevec is one of the most effective) work spectacularly well in some patients but the prices are enormous. The breast cancer drug Herceptin costs about $37,000 a year, Tarceva for lung and pancreas cancer $42,000 a year, Avastin for colon and breast cancer $88,000, Erbitux for colon cancer $120,000.
Medicare pays for all cancer drugs and so do many insurance plans, but often with co-pays. In addition most of the drug companies have assistance plans for some people without insurance.
There are also expensive biologic drugs for other conditions. For example Ebrel for rheumatoid arthritis costs $26,000 a year and Cerezyme for Gaucher's disease $200,000. And Medicare does not cover these drugs as it does cancer drugs -- expect in certain Part D policies that can have co-pays
Why are the drugs so expensive? The drug companies say the drugs are difficult to produce and they must take in profits to keep up their research programs. But the evidence to support such claims is proprietary and thus not subject to verification. A new law will allow generic biological drugs to come on the market, but none will be here for a decade or more. Meanwhile these drugs which result from our new understanding of the biology of cancer and other diseases put huge financial strains on many individuals and on the whole health care system.
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Brian,
As concerns Obama's War, it does sound like a president in command, which is reassuring, but
the clash of egos sound pretty awful. I was surprised that President Obama trusts Hilliary. It seemed
to me like a situation of keeping your enemy close to you. The 2010 election will get ugly in Louisville.
It turns out that Rand Paul is not behind the real ugly campaign ads against Jack Conway. It's
Karl Rove, a genius he is not, in my opinion, and it seems to me that his strategy is to keep NANCY
Pelosi, etc., from coming to Louisville in support of Attorney General Jack Conway. And that may
backfire. Hopefully. The ad connects Conway to Peolsi and Obama Health Care.
Have a nice evening. Hope it's not cloudy in New York tonight so you can see the rare event. I'll be
sure to look up to the sky.
Phyllis
Lets not kid ourselves into thinking Obama's health de-form plan will fix this kind of thing. Funny how this story is out this week, the very week Obama said he wants to re-explain it to us dullards. Well, I was in Medicare Claims, so as a Dullard +, I can say this type of cost of crucial drugs and rationing will happen on a large basis versus just SOME people on Private care. Think not? All we need do is look at other countries * a favorite obama thing to do as well as some Chief justices. In the UK this year the Cancer drug SUTENT was denied to some 600-700 Cancer patients because it costs too much to waste on them. It would be just Too costly to charge to the socialistic plot or plan. This type of disgrace will begin here on a large scale and you will have nowhere to appeal to as you would with a private system. My favorite thing happened this past year during this ram-rod job by Pee-u-losi, Obama and Reid. In REGINA CANADA, the birthplace of the one payer system there, they declared the system unsustainable the way it was. They announced the outsourcing of services to private clinics and other facilities. Yes, while nobody was looking the very thing Obama and Clinton and the rest tell us is the best plan, was being reversed in the Birthplace of it in Canada. No thanks NBC for your heartfelt attempts to slant stories toward obamacare. There is misery and pain to all our lives and it's best taken care of by private health care systems and people tending to their OWN lives and business. REPEAL and Re-write. November is coming.
So under our current system, this drug costs over $1,000 per week, which is a de-facto ration-ing, in itself. You seem to be saying its ok for market forces to to result in health-care rationing, but not the government to do so. Why aren't both scenarios equally appalling to you?
I'm an American who's Father and husband served the US Military and my daughter resently served in the Army. I've worked and volunteer for everything and have voted since I was 18 years old. I've witnessed some of the best and worse of my country. I've heard each President say we need Universal Health Care but it seems it's always put on the back burner. I've paid my taxes and supported my country but I realize with the corruption/crooks/greed of the current law makers and the comments made if I at my age ever get cancer I will die. I see Obama's plan will be destroyed by those how don't care about human life. Age is something many law makers feel isn't important to save. My heart breaks to hear of children who have no health care but this country will help foreign people with health care and even build hospitals in Afghanistan/Iraq while letting US citizens suffer and die. Law Makers health care is paid for by the taxpayers so they don't see a reason to bother with helping others. Obama said he receives heart breaking letters from Americans telling their story of struggle and suffering for the need of health care. I wondered when I read some of the letters, why write the President, why not tell your State elected official. But some people said they have but their elected officials don't care.
NBC News really dropped the ball in their report on Gleevec when they reported that it "cures" CML. Not even close. Gleevec produces impressive remissions - and sometimes, impressive side effects - for a limited time, then it loses effectiveness. There are several other drugs that will work after Gleevec fails, but it is hardly a cure (and the other drugs aren't either), and the only people who stay on it "for life" are the ones who die while using it. Please try to get basic facts right, people! The rest of the piece was useful, at least, in highlighting how our healthcare is not keeping up with our technology. Neither is our sense of compassion.