New cancer drug
I read an article about a month ago about a new drug that is out for the treatment of breast cancer. My initial reaction was skepticism, as the experience that I had with Dick’s chemotherapy was not good. He suffered through chemo while we (the family) prayed that it would make his pain better and ease his discomfort. It didn’t. In hindsight, I have asked myself many times whether it was worth what he went through. I don’t know…he lived a few months longer, but without a better quality of life. So when I read this article, I think I went in with a bias. I read it and then began to do some research. The more I read, the more I was pleasantly surprised. The drug is for aggressive breast cancer, which many times affects young women. It is very expensive. I believe it costs about $94,000.00 for the treatment. It has no side effects, no hair loss, no nausea and it would give the patient another 6 months of life. Still in my mind, I kept thinking about my experience with Dick and the cost. And then this morning, I opened a drawer and there was a picture of me with my 6 kids 20 years ago. It was a Christmas picture and all of them were gathered around me. Annette was 3 and Nick was about 6……and it hit me. I would have paid any amount of money to try a drug that would have given me 6 more months of life to be with my family…any amount. I would have suffered any side effects to have more time with them, if that had been my situation. A dear friend of mine was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer recently. All I can say is thank God that there is so much research going on today and that women have more options. But actually, I can’t imagine anyone not wanting more quality time with their loved ones. So thank God for this drug.
