It’s not a cancer wonder cure. It doesn’t help every child. However, Dr. Jim Whitlock says a radical new therapy that appears to kill the most common childhood cancer is one of the most remarkable advances he has seen in his 35-plus years of practice.
This month, Ontario became the second province after Quebec to announce it will cover the cost of Kymriah for eligible patients. The drug is part of a revolutionary therapy known as chimeric antigen receptor-T-cell therapy that has been approved by Health Canada to treat two life-threatening blood cancers: acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, and a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in adults. Cameron Lahti was diagnosed with ALL in 2010, just weeks before turning four.
The novel treatment involves extracting T-cells, white blood cells floating in a person’s bloodstream, and genetically modifying those cells. The cells are sent to a special lab, where a bit of DNA is added to the cells that instruct them to better target and kill cancer cells that express a particular protein. The genetically engineered T cells are then infused back into the person, where they multiply madly and can survive in the body for years.
Ontario added that the discounted price to be paid by the provinces “improves the cost effectiveness of Kymriah and helps support cancer system sustainability.” However, the high-ticket price is part of a larger question, Jarry said. “How much are we willing to pay to survive disease, and how much are governments willing to pay?”
0684Blade My advice would be to travel to Europe and get treated there. Instead of doing chemo and radiation. In Europe they remove the benign growths and none of the bad side effects. Also they do stem cell treatments for leukemia. Canada is behind.