AML -adult
 

Dear Doug or anyone else with info:

My mother was recently diagnosed with Adult - Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
At age 79, she was advised no active treatment. I have done a search and discussed the use of Vidaza in MDS and AML with an american hematologist.
It has positive survival outcomes in AML with good tolerability. However, it seems unavailable in Canada.
Does anyone have experience in using this medication? Obtaining it in Canada and its cost? or assistance in getting it?

Thanks - David

Hello David,

My mother, 82 years old, recently transformed from MDS to AML and she too is not a candidate for conventional chemotherapy. Her hematologist thought that Vidaza would be the best option. Although Vidaza is not commercially available in Canada, patients can access the drug through Health Canada's Compassionate Use Program (Special Access Program). The hematologist needs to complete the paperwork and send the request to Health Canada. The requests are reviewed on a case by case basis and once Health Canada approves the request, then the doctor can have the drug shipped from the manufacturer to the hospital or oncology clinic. The whole process took about 4 weeks and my mom started treatment with Vidaza today. The sad part is that she is so frail and her counts are so low because of the AML, we're not sure if she will be able to tolerate the treatment. (We are all praying very hard that it's not too late and that she still has a chance).

It is frustrating for Canadians to know that there is a drug available to treat this dreadful disease, but unfortunately in Canada it seems that we need to go through hoops to get access to the drug.

Let's hope that things will progress in the right direction and that patients in Canada can easily access this potentially life-saving drug.

My uncle is being treated with it at Sunnybrook, I asked the pharmacist who was paying for it and he said that Celgene is and that they're a pretty generous company.

He was given the choice between induction chemo and Vidaza, he went with the Vidaza because of a wound that hasn't completely healed yet.

They found an unrelated match, but has to get to the point where he can actually receive the transplant.

It was approved last Thursday and I sincerely hope that it becomes more widely available.

David

This week Vidaza was approved in Canada.
The drug is currently only available through the Special Access progam (SAP) from Health Canada.
In the meantime you can contact Celegene Medical Information at 1-888-712-2353 ( Extention 4850) and they will be able to give you information on this program and accessing the drug.

Doug