The members of the medicine basket committee are currently deciding on the medicines that will enter the medicine basket in the coming year.
The medicines that go into the basket will be given to patients free of charge.
The budget for the basket this year is 650 million shekels, so unfortunately not all medicines will go into the basket.
One of the dilemmas of the members of the drug basket committee lies in the question of which of the cancer drugs to put in the basket.
The various issues of this serious disease have led to the fact that a variety of drugs have been developed to bring relief to patients.
Due to the limited budget of the medicine basket, not all of them will enter it.
"Patients may die."
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According to the Cancer Society, in 2023, approximately 31,000 women and men will be diagnosed with cancer in Israel, and approximately 11,000 will die from the disease.
In an international comparison, the rate of cancer cases in Israel is higher than the world average - Israel ranks 45th among the 50 countries with the highest rates of the disease.
The death rate from cancer is low compared to the rest of the world - Israel is in 89th place thanks to compliance with tests for the early detection of cancer, alongside accessible treatment in the health basket.
In general, every year about 40% of the drug basket budget goes to cancer patients, partly because cancer is considered the number one cause of death in Israel.
This year, among all cancer drugs, there are a significant number of drugs intended for breast cancer patients, and each drug has a particularly significant value for a certain small segment of patients.
New answer
Sometimes it is a completely new group of patients, for whom there was no answer until now, and sometimes for early or late stages of the disease, for which there was no answer until now either.
And if these dilemmas are not enough, then of the ten most important drugs for cancer, which according to oncologists should enter the drug basket this year, there are four drugs intended for breast cancer patients.
"Another budget".
Strolov Shahar, photo: Sharon Gabai
"This year, the dilemma of breast cancer drugs in the drug basket is particularly difficult, like asking a parent to choose which of his children he likes more," says Dr. Shlomit Strolov Shahar, a senior oncologist in the breast cancer unit at Ichilov Hospital. "There are many options, and above all we need more budget.
There are many breakthroughs in the field, so there are more options for our patients, and we want to make the treatments accessible to all of them."
She further explains: "These are difficult decisions for the basket committee. I would like every patient to get what she needs. For patients whose disease is detected at an early stage to receive treatment that will increase the chance that their disease will not return, and they will not need treatment for a metastatic condition. Thus, all patients will also receive all What medicine in 2024 can offer."
Among the drugs at the heart of the Hessel committee's dilemma: "Enharto", which is intended for a large group of patients with metastatic breast cancer for whom there has been no dedicated treatment until now.
This is an antibody attached to a drug that improved the patients' chances of survival by 46%.
Another drug, "Varzanio", is specifically intended for patients in the early stage, and is given as a treatment to prevent recurrence of the disease.
In 86% of those who received it, the breast cancer did not return.
The drug was ranked by the oncologists as the most important drug.
Another drug for breast cancer patients is "Orsardo", which is intended for metastatic breast cancer patients of the most common type - hormonal breast cancer.
The drug was able to reduce by 45% the risk of disease progression in patients in an advanced disease stage who stopped responding to other treatments, and in fact there was no additional treatment to give them.
"Medicines save".
Spring, photo: no credit
Other drugs that are intended for breast cancer patients are "Trudelby" which is intended for the most complex patients, more aggressive breast cancer, with metastatic disease, for whom previous treatments did not help.
The immunotherapy drug "Keytroda" was also submitted for breast cancer patients of the aggressive type, but for early stages of the disease, in order to reduce the chance of the disease returning.
Dr. Strolov Shahar warns in the shadow of the delay in submitting the basket committee's conclusions: "This year's delay in putting the drugs in the basket hurts women.
There are women who are waiting for medication and will not survive because of the delay in the basket.
Some women may miss treatment.
Those who have just been diagnosed, will not be able to receive treatment for an early stage of the disease.
The women are waiting with great hope for the basket committee's decisions."
"That all of them can receive treatment"
Aviv Biton (29) from Yavneh, a patient with metastatic breast cancer, says: "I have combined breast cancer from several receptors, so it is complex to treat. I underwent chemotherapy, partial mastectomy, radiation, and a combination of biological drugs that I am still taking. The drugs I receive are who saves me. I want to know that there is a wide variety of treatments for patients in Israel, so that they can all receive the treatment they need."
Shari Shemesh Shabtai (39) from Jerusalem is diagnosed with hormonal breast cancer in an advanced stage: "I joined the dubious club of breast cancer patients. In this disease, each patient is treated individually. There are women who respond to the biological drug I receive for two years and there are those who respond for only two months. No one knows how to predict how the medicine will affect them, so it is important to have as many treatment options as possible."
Shemesh Shabtai is a harp player, who these days puts on a show that tells about her personal struggles through playing.
"In metastatic breast cancer there are many thoughts about how to live life and how not to give up and give up. Beyond the stress surrounding each test, I suffer from the side effects of the treatments, need help with the children, and my life today is different from the one I had before the disease."
Shemesh Shabtai, who is active in the "Gamani" association, received one of her medications even though it is not included in the medication basket.
"Fortunately, I have private insurance, otherwise I don't know where I would be. Unfortunately, patients who don't have insurance or financial help - may die. I understand that there isn't a budget for everything, but it can't be that women who need life-saving treatment won't receive it because of money."
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