Hamilton, 22, received compassionate access to $ 80,000 cancer treatment without funding from Pharmac

The future is a difficult concept for Ryan Grieve, whose terminal cancer diagnosis was hopefully prolonged with access to an unfunded $ 80,000 immunotherapy treatment in New Zealand.

The pharmaceutical company Roche has given the 22-year-old from Hamilton compassionate access to two new drugs designed to give him more time.

But the question of how long is something Grieve prefers not to know.

On June 24, the Herald reported on the arduous confinement journey that Grieve’s mother, Vikki Blundell, undertook from Peru to reach her son, who was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer that month.

Now the rush home has turned into a struggle to make time together as comfortable and long as possible.

But the drugs that can help, Bevacizumab and Atezolizumab, were only approved by the FDA in 2016 and are not funded by Pharmac.

They are typically only available for $ 80,000.

“He [Grieve’s oncologist] He told us there were three treatments that were going to provide a longer quality of life, but nothing is going to cure this, “says Blundell.

“Each had benefits and potential side effects, and none were funded by Pharmac. So when we got out of that appointment, we were clear that there were potential treatments and that they weren’t going to be options for us.”

But a request from his Hamilton oncologist to Roche pharmaceutical company was approved, and Grieve received his first round of immunotherapy drugs a month ago.

“It’s amazing. We just couldn’t treat him as a family,” says Blundell.

“We don’t have $ 80,000. It just wouldn’t have been possible. That would have been horrible. Because you want to do everything you can to make your kids feel as comfortable as possible.”

Grieve’s oncologist explained to the Herald that the drugs work together in different ways to slow the growth of cancer.

Atezolizumab supports the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer.

“The drug itself does not attack cancer directly. It is just a mechanism to strengthen the body’s immune system,” said Grieve’s oncologist.

“Bevacizumab / Avastin works effectively to affect the formation of blood vessels in the body.

“Cancer grows very fast. It needs a good blood supply. So you are trying to deprive the cancer of a good blood supply and boosting the immune system. Hopefully they both work together and treat and kill the cancer.”

The Hamilton oncologist said that one of the main studies showing that this drug combination is effective in treating liver cancer was published last year.

“Unfortunately for New Zealand, there is nothing publicly funded for liver cancer,” he says.

“There are clinical trials, but Ryan is not a candidate for that, although they have presented it before.

“All of his treatments are largely done in unfunded settings and range from tablet treatments to the current treatment he is receiving.”

Grieve will receive a scan in the next few weeks to let doctors know the effectiveness of the drugs, which do not work for everyone.

Despite the family’s appreciation for access to the new treatment, Blundell says administering the transfusions of the two drugs has been very difficult for Grieve.

“It’s supposed to take 90 minutes, but it took Ryan five or six hours due to complications. He’s exhausted by the end,” Grieve said.

“It’s a long time. Other people come in and take theirs and leave, and then the next person walks in between the sheets and then the next person walks in and leaves and Ryan is still there.

“She has the transfusions every three weeks and just got the second one. So after recovering from the first one she felt stronger than before.

“He’s losing weight fast. So he’s still very sick. It’s hard to tell if it’s working or not.”

Grieve had to stop in the middle of treatment last week because she felt “severe pain.”

A friend of Blundell’s also created a Givealittle page to help with the family’s living costs.

Givealittle’s page called “Help Ryan and His Family” also provides a safety net in case Grieve does not respond to this immunotherapy and they have to seek a new treatment.

“It’s not like he’s a healthy person who can do what he wants. He has to do what he can based on how he feels about this disease. This terminal condition,” Blundell said.

“He has this cancer in his belly. Even getting hit in the car hurt him. So he’s pretty limited in what he can do. If friends come, he’s exhausted the next day.”

“It might be [immunotherapy] it doesn’t really work, so we’d be trying something else. So we don’t know why we will have to pay in the future. So knowing that there is money is a great relief.

“There is a deep appreciation and gratitude our family feels for all who help and support. It has been incredible.”