HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-11-17, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005.
People seek treatment for rare blood cancer
Petitioning for a cause
From left, Jim Barnes, Agnes Unger, John Snell, Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell, Bruce
Coleman and Marjorie Coleman present petitions signed by 2,779 residents in Huron and
Bruce Counties in efforts to get access to a drug that would help treat multiple myeloma, a
rare and incurable form of blood cancer. (Heather crawford photo)
the patient’s pelvic bones, then
infused intravenously into the
patient.
The immune system is destroyed
prior to the transplant, making it
essential that the recipient is cared
for in a special isolation unit for
three to four weeks for protection
from infections following the
procedure.
“I was lucky,” Barnes said. “I only
had to stay in the hospital for two
weeks,” while another patient he met
in the hospital had to remain in
isolation for three months.
Like many Canadians diagnosed
with multiple myeloma. Barnes had
to head south of the border to find
new forms of treatment, not yet
available in Canada.
He was able to participate in a
clinical trial of thalidomide, a drug
that was used in the 1960s to stop
severe morning sickness in pregnant
women.
It was found later that thalidomide
caused birth defects, such as the loss
of limbs in the children of those who
had taken the drug. It was taken off
the market and only used in treating
people with leprosy until it was
found to have a positive effect in
multiple myeloma patients.
Barnes was eventually taken off of
the drug due to side effects such as
pain in the extremities.
cause of persuading the government
to allow equal access to Velcade.
He was present at the presentation
of the petitions in Mitchell’s office
which requested that the Parliament
of Ontario provide immediate access
to Velcade and other intravenous
chemotherapy. It also asked
parliament to provide consistent
policy for access to new cancer
treatments that enables oncologists
to apply for exceptions to meet the
needs of patients.
“We’ll try,” was Mitchell’s
response.
“It depends...the minister (of
health) will be looking at this. It’s
really for awareness,” she said.
Bruce Coleman, a multiple
myeloma patient, asked Mitchell for
confirmation before Nov. 17 that the
petitions will be presented to the
legislative assembly before the end
of November.
“We’ll try,” Mitchell said.
Although there is no known cause,
immune system disorder and
workplace exposure in the farming
and petroleum industries are being
studied as possible causes of
myeloma cancer according to the
Canadian Cancer Society.
Some factors that are thought to
increase the risk of developing
multiple myeloma are age
(particularly over 50), gender (more
By Heather Crawford
Citizen staff
Multiple myeloma, an incurable
form of blood cancer has an
alarmingly high rate of diagnosis in
Huron County.
According to Cancer Care
Ontario, multiple myeloma has an
occurrence rate of eight in 100,000
people on average each year in the
county from the years 1998-2002.
The average for the same time
period each year in Ontario is five in
100,000.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, several
Huron people who have either been
treated for multiple myeloma or
have family members who are
patients, presented Huron-Bruce
MPP Carol Mitchell with a petition
of 2,779 signatures as well as 198
letters requesting the Government of
Ontario to provide access to a new
drug called Velcade.
Velcade (bortezomib) injection is
known as a proteasome inhibitor,
meaning it disrupts the life cycle of
the cell, affecting biological
pathways, including those related to
the growth and survival of cancer
cells.
Velcade was approved by the Food
and Drug Administration in the U.S.
on May 13. 2003 and then by Health
Canada in January 2005.
However, the Government of
Ontario has delayed approval of the
drug while they are doing further
studies.
It is indicated for patients whose
disease has relapsed after two prior
treatments and who have
demonstrated resistance to their last
treatment.
Currently Velcade is only
available in Ontario at the private
cancer clinic in Toronto, with the
cost to the patient of approximately
$50,000 each year.
This wasn’t an option for Jim
Barnes.
It has been seven years since the
Belgrave resident was diagnosed
with multiple myeloma.
He first discovered he had the
disease after visiting a blood donor
clinic. “I had the test to see if I was
able to give blood,” he remembered,
“and it didn’t go through the first
time because [the nurses
administering the test] said my
hemoglobin was low and I should
see my doctor.”
When he was first diagnosed,
Barnes said he had never heard of
multiple myeloma. Now he said he
could name 10 people he knows well
who have it.
In 1998, when Barnes began
treatment, the only option available
was chemotherapy followed by stem
cell transplantation, a procedure
where bone marrow is removed from
Since participating in the trial, he
has been five years in remission.
He has been heavily involved in
trying to set up support groups for
people with multiple myeloma and
for over six months, has joined other
myeloma patients in the area in the
men than
diagnosed),
descent, a family history of the
disease and exposure to high doses
of radiation. However, some people
develop multiple myeloma without
any of these risk factors.
OLDFIELD
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Hardware
O ROGERS'
Your World Right Now
women seem to be
African Canadian
We are pleased to announce that Brussels now has a Rogers
communications tower, this will greatly improve our cellular phone
service in this area.
Letter to the editor
MADD hosts
tree lighting
THE EDITOR,
On Friday, Nov. 18 the
Huron/Bruce Chapter of Mother’s
Against Drunk Driving (MADD
Canada) will be hosting the Lighting
of the MADD Tree, Forget Me Not
Tree and the Angel Tree as well as
the Candlelight Vigil. This event
will take place on the square in
Goderich at 7 p.m.
MADD Canada volunteers and
Goderich District Collegiate
Institute’s Ontario Students Against
Impaired Driving will be selling
doves and angels that can be placed
on the Angel Tree as well as candles
that will be lit in remembrance of a
victim of an impaired driving crash
or in memory of a loved one.
The Huron/Bruce Chapter invites
all members of the community to
participate in the Lighting of the
Angel Tree and Candlelight Vigil of
Remembrance and Hope.
Laurie Dinning
President
Huron/Bruce Chapter of MADD
Canada.
Classified advertisements
published in
The Citizen
are now available on our
website at
www.northhuron.on.ca
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