Avastin is “a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth of cancer cells by blocking the formation and growth of new blood vessels in the tumor which slows their growth.
Avastin is used to treat cancers of the colon, rectum, lung or breast. It is usually given as part of a combination of cancer medicines.”
It has been in the center of controversies in Great Britain because the NHS refuses to provide it to British cancer patients, patients like Debbie Hirst.
Avastin is an expensive drug, which is the main reason NHS won’t provide it:
The Financial Times “A dose of reality†explores the controversy over the British National Health Service’s (NHS) refusal to pay for medical services for patients who use certain high cost drugs. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) advises the NHS on the cost-benefit of drugs. Genentech’s (DNA) Avastin cancer treatment is approved for sale in the UK, but NICE has determined that it is not cost-effective.
The solution? Just don’t tell the patients about the treatment:
The poll by charity Myeloma UK reveals doctors are now actively keeping information from cancer sufferers as a result of the drug rationing system.
Its findings are likely to reignite criticism of Nice, which is already under fire for a ruling earlier this month that certain drugs for kidney cancer are too expensive.
More than 103 specialists across England, Wales and Scotland took part in the survey, which shows how they struggle with NHS bureaucracy and cost-cutting.
In 96 per cent of cases where the specialists chose to keep quiet, they said they did so because it might “distress, upset or confuse” their patients.
You have to understand that even if the patient knew about the drug, most still couldn’t afford it. They may be able to afford the drug, but NHS policy is to then force them to pay for all their NHS treatment out of pocket. This is to avoid that nasty two-tier treatment plan. Instead they either get the bad news that there is a treatment the government won’t pay for, or they get no news at all.
Americans also face high drug costs. That’s no secret. But at least we know the treatment exists, and are not penalized for trying to get it.
Hat Tip: Secondhand Smoke
