It's been three years since I received a life-changing bit of news: a lymphoma diagnosis. (Some of you may know this, having read my blow-by-blow account at tlhines.com/lymphoma.)
But for those of you who know nothing about lymphoma in general, or my kanoodling with it in specific, the short story is: I was diagnosed, I received a treatment called Bexxar that put me into remission, and three years later I'm able to write this post without "lymphoma" being the word that occupies 99.9% of all my waking thoughts. (Instead, the word "spatula" is the word that occupies 99.9% of all my waking thoughts...but that's another story.)
At the end of September, I gave an Ignite Spokane presentation called "How Lucky Underwear Helped Me Battle Lymphoma," chronicling my strange trip through diagnosis and treatment.
Now, this week, I received word that Bexxar, the very treatment I received, may not be available to other lymphoma patients: GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Bexxar, have released a statement saying:
"the infrequent demand for Bexxar, coupled with its significant production costs, meant that our on-demand service would not be sustainable."
Translation: "We're going to start ramping down production of Bexxar." I don't fault GSK for making decisions based on profit; they are, after all, a company, and that's what companies need to do. But in this particular case, I believe making Bexxar more inaccessible represents a large step backward in current lymphoma treatment...and in treatments moving forward.
I won't go into all the factors affecting this at the moment; suffice to say I'm a believer in Bexxar, and I want to do everything I can to help keep it a viable option for lymphoma patients. So I'm asking you to sign a petition and/or an open letter to GSK, urging them to reconsider their decision.
