EAST AMHERST, NY (WKBW) — A national-wide drug shortage is being felt here at home. Two main cancer drugs remain in short supply and some doctors are being forced to ration chemo-therapy treatments and this could be putting patients at risk.
"It's bad. It's bad news,” declared Kathleen Maxian, president & founder, Ovarian Cancer Project.
Ovarian Cancer survivor Kathleen Maxian is also president and founder of the Ovarian Cancer Project in East Amherst. The shortage of two chemo drugs is a major problem for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“So in the world of ovarian cancer, there's two drugs one is called Carboplatin, and the other is called Cisplatin and these drugs are really old and now they're generic drugs, and this is still the 'gold standard' of care for women who have ovarian cancer,” remarked Maxian.
Every woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States is given these drugs during treatment, but the shortages are leaving some without help.
“I’ve heard plenty of stories about, you know, my doctor doesn't have this, or my treatment is delayed, or, you know, I’m being offered something different and so, it's definitely affecting our community,” explained Maxian. our patient community, because we've not only given this drug when someone's first diagnosed, but we give it when a woman is recurring.
Maxian tells me she experienced a similar shortage back in 2011 when she was being treated for her cancer. She was put on a substitute drug that she says made her “incredibly sick” and was ready to give up, just as the shortage eased.
“I was absolutely going to quit, it was too much. It just felt over the top. It didn't feel worth it. I had zero quality of life and if I had quit, I don't know if I’d be alive today,” recalled Maxian.
Western New York Congressman Brian Higgins has been advocating to help with the shortage of these cancer drugs. He signed a bi-partisan letter last month.
The letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary and the FCA commissioner urged the agencies to work with Congress to address the supply chain challenges.
“I’m hoping through the work of Congressman Higgins’s office, and the work of the Society for Gynecological Oncologists and of course the manufacturers themselves that we can do something so that in the future, we're not looking at having to make ethical decisions about who gets what drug. But it really is up to these manufacturers to make some decisions about,” Maxian noted.
Maxian also reached out to the congressman and is waiting for an end to the shortages and a lifeline for cancer patients.
“Will we lose people because of this drug shortage? Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind,” Maxian reflected.
