CoppaFeel! founder thanks drug she and her doctor call Pablo for making her happier
The drugs now being funded for breast cancer are called palbociclib (or “Pablo”) and ribociclib
TWO breast cancer drugs hailed as “breakthroughs” have finally been given the green light to be funded by the NHS.
It comes after a large noise was made by breast cancer organisations and women who could not access the drugs.
Advanced breast cancer is too often overlooked with the cost/ benefit argument and has left thousands, including me, feeling like lost causes.
When talk of prolonging life happens, it is common to start to wonder what value your life holds in the war on cancer.
A few more months of good-quality life are just as important to fight for as a complete cure.
The drugs now being funded are called palbociclib (or “Pablo” as my doctor and I affectionately call it) and ribociclib.
I was with the right doctor at the right time and one of the first in the UK to get access to Pablo.
I had few side effects and could to stay away from hospital for longer periods of time. For others, it means the chance to return to work, spend time with loved ones, avoid chemo and have a much happier existence.
Of course we still have a mighty long way to go. Although these drugs will benefit 8,000 women each year, there are a lot more of us with advanced stage-four cancer and who have tried many unsuitable drugs.
These new drugs are also only suitable for hormone-receptive breast cancers, thus denying those with something called triple negative breast cancer.
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I’d like to think that when calling for these drugs to be offered, we talk more with the public and heighten awareness of a secondary breast cancer – usually overshadowed by the idealisation of a cured disease.
With awareness comes greater understanding, which leads to knowledge. And knowledge equals power.
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