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VICKY PHELAN HAS urged the government to make the drug pembrolizumab available to all women with cervical cancer in Ireland.
The drug, which Phelan said is allowing her to live with the disease despite her terminal diagnosis in January, has been offered by the State to the 221 women affected by the CervicalCheck crisis.
She said Pembro should be made available to all women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer and whose tumours are likely to respond to the treatment. One dose every three weeks costs €8,500 and it is recommended that patients stay on this dose for two years.
“That’s a lot of money when you add it up,” she told RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live last night.
Phelan said she feels uncomfortable receiving the drug knowing other women who could be helped by it do not have the option.
The 44-year-old said that she has practically no side-effects from the drug and it has given her a much better quality of life compared to her time undergoing chemotherapy when she said she was unable to be there for her children because it made her so ill.
Most days I don’t even think about having cancer, to be honest, that’s massive to be able to say that with a terminal diagnosis. For me, it’s a no-brainer if you can target this drug and you score high and your tumour will respond to it, you can live with this disease.
Phelan said she recognises that this drug is not a cure for cervical cancer and there may come a time when it stops working, but for now it is buying her time with her family.
“I didn’t think I’d see this end of the year, to be honest; that’s how bad things were back in January.”
The HSE said the use of pembrolizumab in the treatment of cervical cancer has been approved by the FDA in the USA, but does not yet have a licence in Europe.
“We expect that pembrolizumab will be submitted to the European Medicines Agency for licensing for the treatment of cervical cancer in the future.
“On that basis, the use of the drug for the treatment for cervical cancer cannot yet be considered for national reimbursement by the HSE and is not approved by the HSE for reimbursement.”
The HSE said the establishment of the CervicalCheck support package was an “exceptional measure”.
“Outside of this patient group, access to investigational medicines is normally through a clinical trial. The HSE would emphasise that the patient’s clinician is usually best advised to inform the patient of any clinical trial options that would be suitable.”
During Leaders Questions today, Labour leader Brendan Howlin said that the decision to provide some cancer patients with the drug and not others was made on “dubious legal grounds”.
You can’t look two women in the eye suffering from the same disease and say the State will give a potentially life saving drug to one but not to the other.
He said that all patients should be treated equally, and that this is enshrined under the Constitution:
“We need to have a plan in place to ensure there is equity in access to this drug for those who need it. And time is not on the side of many of the people who need this treatment.”
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Just got the highest electricity bill since the start of the inflation, though usage lower than year before.
@GoodBrother: Haven’t used any Gas since February yet the standing charge may aswell say i was …disgraceful
@Trent: Roughly a euro per day. No usage and still the bill is €60+. Before C-19 my gas bill used to be about €45 – 50 all in.
@GoodBrother: Really. Inflation has been creeping up for well over a year now, nearly 2. Unless you used zero electricity until this bill, or were locked into a really low tariff for almost 2 years, then I do not believe this is your highest bill since inflation started to rise.
@GoodBrother: I got probably one of my lowest one,since the smart meter went in my bills are going down,I can see what is driving my bill.
We are now the most expensive country in Europe to live in. I never imagined we’d be more pricey than Switzerland or Norway. Thank you, FFG. Also on track to become the most obese.14 million each day for our national debt of $250 billion. Third-world heat care systems. the capital’s inner city is rife with violence and drugs. As a country, we are regressing.
Worked hard all my life as a chef to save enough for my own buisness watching it all dwindled away look after there own big hotels cashing in a fortune on migrants while the small tourists buisness get a slap on the face .
There is no end to being RIP of Ireland
@Paul Maguire: unless you are a dole merchant, then you get everything paid for ,
@James Moylan: Said the Kerry man to the bull.
Stop voting FF/FG ye thick muppets, let SF in, we need a change..but in all fairness this open door my documents, come in my friends has to stop. I was walking around Ennis, Co Clare the other, For a bit I thought I was in the suburbs of Mogadishu, only the rip off cost of a pint and newspaper brought me back to drizzleville.
@will o bdee: The shiners will be the same, they will be forced to stay in line, easy to promise the Earth in opposition, but it will either be business as usual or populist policies will lead to medium to long term problems. either way, I cannot see it SF doing any better than the current shower of tool bags.
Mortgage through the roof. Extra 600 a month meant pulling kids outa 3rd level education…
@Monty Carlow: Go on the dole and get mortgage paid by state, medical card, plus many more perks including grants for third level etc. etc.
@paulinlavally@gmail.com: It was the Bankers and Developers that collapsed the Irish economy.
Greed rife at the moment. Could list crisis after crisis but I can’t be bothered
But yeah it was the guy on the dole.
Look up lad.
@Monty Carlow: get them to learn Ukrainian or Arabic ,free everything from then on
@Monty Carlow: do a deal with the bank and keep your kids in 3rd level. Education is the key to a decent job
@Monty Carlow: Must be a big mortgage,mine is going up €38 a month in September,hope you’re kids are working to help with college.
@Monty Carlow: go to the docks near customs during the night,row out some,rip up you’re passport row in early morning,say you’ve amnesia or lost you’re passport rowing,they’re lost on flights available when they’re boarding, lost when landing it’s amazing in a completely sealed aircraft how it can happen shouldn’t be hard to understand in a boat I’d imagine…
In who’s opinion? absolute rubbish,it’s through the roof and slowly but surely rising in different segments be it food, electricity and fuel which will again increase in october,perfect timing when kids go back to school and cold weather kicks in and people need heating oil which they’ve been putting off keeping they’re heads above water at present and we might get help with more money from government, what money? it’s all going up again they’ve said it already the payment won’t outway the cost to the average person we lose again.
Tighten your belts. Store tins of beans. This is the peak.
That’s complete media tripe. Are you trying to feed people carrots on sticks
Buy less
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