Rethink Breast Cancer (Rethink) has saluted the March 21 decision by the Ontario government to take steps towards providing greater access to specific cancer treatments.
The creation of a new evidence-building program for cancer drugs will allow conditional expanded coverage for cancer drugs that are being funded where there is evolving evidence demonstrating clinical benefit beyond the current criteria.
That issue was brought to the forefront by the story of Jill Anzarut and her fight for Herceptin, which Rethink has strongly supported and continues to support.
Anzarut, a 35-year-old mother of two, recently learned that her 0.5cm tumour was too small to qualify her to receive the drug Herceptin.
Unlike in other provinces, breast cancer patients in Ontario with tumours less than 1cm do not qualify for the treatment, which reduces the chance of recurrence.
“Today the Ontario government took an important first step by recognizing that current rules and guidelines do not meet the needs of every Ontarian.
Jill Anzarut’s case has shown that other factors must be considered in treatment funding, such as recognizing the importance of the biology of the tumour, not just the size, and our efforts to make this public has moved the benchmark forward,” said M.J. DeCoteau, founder and executive director of Rethink Breast Cancer.
“Rethink will do everything to ensure the new evidence-building program will address the needs of those 100 women with HER2-positive breast cancer who fall through the cracks of Ontario’s drug policy each year.”
Rethink calls on the province to complete and implement the new evidence-building program guidelines as scheduled.
“We urge the government to be transparent and stick closely to their timelines in the creation of this program,” said DeCoteau.
“Rethink is committed to working with the government on this initiative, and asks that we are brought to the table as soon as possible so that the voice of the patient is heard.”
Rethink believes in equal access to optimal treatment for all women living with breast cancer in Canada.
It has advocated for equal and timely access to Herceptin for women with HER2-positive tumours less than 1cm.
Rethink also started a letter writing campaign on its website, www.rethinkbreastcancer.com, and encouraged people to support women like Anzarut by speaking out against and demonstrating a need for policy change. To date, more than 4,000 people clicked on the link to send a letter to Health Minister Deb Matthews.
By taking a breakthrough approach to all aspects of breast cancer, Rethink Breast Cancer is thinking differently about how to beat breast cancer.
Its mission is to continuously pioneer cutting edge breast cancer research, education, and support that speaks to the needs of young women.
