A world-first cancer treatment, discovered in Melbourne, has been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
It means thousands of Australians with blood cancer will now have access to the pills, which have been slashed by thousands of dollars.
Patrick Foley has been fighting an incurable blood cancer for more than 30 years.
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But doctors initially gave the Melbourne man only six months to live.
After battling the disease for decades, it’s finally at bay for the 68-year-old thanks to a world-first treatment discovered by researchers in Melbourne.
Foley was one of the first to access it as part of a clinical trial.
“It’s like playing a card game, where you think you’ve got a losing hand and you’re handed a couple of cards and then all of a sudden, you’ve got a winning hand,” Foley told 9News.
Two drugs, Imbruvica and Venetoclax – used individually to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma – are now being used together.
They work to block proteins and help kill the cancer cells with two tablets taken daily for 15 months.
There’s no need for chemotherapy, meaning less side effects and once in remission, patients go drug-free.
“I think it’s a huge breakthrough for our patients,” Dr Con Tam, Head of Lymphoma Services, Alfred Hospital.
“That means the cancer is out of mind and patients can get back to their normal lives.”
Now the treatment is added to the PBS, the price of the pill has been slashed from $12,600 a month to just $7.70 for concession card holders and $31.60 for general patients.
Health Minister Mark Butler called the treatment “remarkable” and hopes it will benefit hundreds of Australians.
“Taking this tablet treatment is just a world away from having to undergo chemo treatment or radiation therapy,” Butler told 9News.
“This is a remarkable new treatment that will change the lives of as many as 900 patients with lymphoma every year.”
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