Monday, July 07, 2008
The cost to the people of Canada to keep me on Herceptin (we have universal health care and I have now had twenty-five treatments) is around $45,000 (and this does not take into account my chemotherapy and other regular testing). Of course I think it's worth it. I feel well most of the time and am now NED (no evidence of disease) with four clean scans under my belt (I had "innumerable tumours" in November 2006).
How should the value of a particular drug be determined? Who should have access and for how long? As more of us live longer with cancer and as new and expensive treatments continue to be developed, this debate is bound to intensify.
