Discrimination against young cancer patients:
a drug called Adcetris, which is considered effective and safe for Hodgkin's lymphoma, the most common type of cancer among young people, entered the drug basket two years ago exclusively for patients over 60 (or for patients over 18 who suffer from dysfunction pulmonary).
The Minister of Health: "70-80 percent of the names of the members of the Medicine Basket Committee have agreements, we are still in dialogue with the Treasury" // Knesset Channel
This, although the professional guidelines in the world do not differentiate between the patients based on their age.
At the same time, the young patients receive chemotherapy, which has severe side effects and implications for fertility or future illness.
Most of the patients are young
In recent days, the Halasartan association - the only association in Israel working for young cancer patients - sent a letter to the members of the Medicines Basket Committee, demanding to correct the discrimination that exists against young cancer patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"Since this is a disease with a high prevalence among young patients, we appeal to the committee to correct the discrimination that has arisen on the basis of age, and also allow the young patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma to have better and wider access to receive advanced treatments through the current health basket route," wrote the founder and CEO of the association, Shira Kuperman-Segal.
The founder and CEO of the association, Shira Kuperman-Segal,
Halasartan explains that the request to correct the discrimination comes in view of the lack of support in the international guidelines for the effectiveness of the treatment among older patients over younger ones.
According to them, "we cannot remain indifferent to the fact that the state health care basket provides a less effective solution, which involves significant side effects compared to older patients."
Ministry of Health data shows that in 2020, 315 patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma were diagnosed in Israel, and the age group in which the disease is most common is among 15-19 year olds.
In total, from the age of 15 to 40, more than half of the patients were diagnosed (163).
Over the age of 60 there were only 69 cases.
This disease has relatively high cure rates compared to other malignant diseases.
However, when it is diagnosed at an advanced stage - the chances of recovery are decreasing.
chemotherapy (illustration),
The currently accepted treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with advanced disease is a combination of Adestris and chemotherapy, which gives patients about a 70% chance of recovery, or a combination of several types of chemotherapy - a treatment that does result in higher recovery rates, but at the cost of severe short-term side effects And the long term, such as suppression of the bone marrow, development of cancer following chemotherapy (secondary malignancy), damage to fertility as well as irreversible lung damage (which greatly affects the quality of life among 10-46% of all patients).
Adestris, which was approved in 2018 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has been proven to significantly reduce side effects.
It should be noted that the cost of a year of treatment at Estris is about NIS 260,000 for a single patient.
"The treatment was excellent"
Dr. Zofia Levy, senior physician in the hemato-oncology department at Rambam: "I do everything in my power to bring my patients the medicine through private insurance. It is very exciting, and there are great results with the new treatments. I would be happy if this treatment were in the basket for the patients Mine, and in particular for those at high risk."
"The medicine helped", Gal Shaham, photo: none
Gal Shaham (19), a reservist from Moshav Ein Iron, was diagnosed a few months ago with the disease, and thanks to private insurance he received funding for treatment at Estris.
"I was in treatments for four months. I received chemotherapy, but about half of what I would have received without the medicine. I went through the treatments faster and better than the doctors and I thought. The treatment I received was excellent, the best I could have received, according to my feelings and according to the doctors' response. I am sure that with chemo the recovery It's slower and more difficult, and maybe I wouldn't have been able to get through it so well. Now I'm considered to be recovering, I'm being monitored, and I've already returned to school."
The Medicines Basket Committee responded: "The members of the Medicines Basket Committee, including senior doctors, professionals and public representatives, are currently discussing hundreds of new technologies that have been submitted to the basket. The committee has not yet finished the discussion phase. The desire and desire of all of us: to include as many technologies as possible for the benefit of the public in Israel".
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