Generic drugs online

Source: Mangalorean.com

Date: 9-Jun-2011

Author: Tori Brunetti

It's an emotional roller coaster that cancer patients have been on for nearly a year: First they are hit with the terrifying news they have cancer but then good news, it can be treated, followed by more bad news that the drug they need is not available.

This is happening to cancer patients all over the country that common, life-saving cancer drugs are on short supply and there is a lot of debate as to the reasons why.

All the drugs that are in short supply have been around for awhile and only come in generic forms, which means they are affordable to the patients and not very profitable to manufacturers.

9 months ago, Christine Ard was diagnosed with a sinus tumor.

"I wasn't given too many weeks to live," Ard said.

After months of chemo it looked like she had beaten her cancer, she was nearing her final few months of treatment when the drug she was taking was no longer available.

"It's frustrating beyond words, it's like you just pulled the rug out and knocked me down," she said, adding that at first she panicked, and then she was angry.

"Those damn drug companies. I am sorry but that's true."

Dr. Arvind Chaudhry is the medical director of Providence Cancer Center and says shortages of life-saving cancer drugs that have been around for years is a growing problem.

"It almost feels like we are not practicing in a first world country anymore, this is stuff that happens in third world countries, it's shocking this is happening to us," Dr. Chaudhry said.

The reason? Drugs that doctors have started to rely on to save lives on are in short supply because there is little incentive for manufacturers to make them.

"The explanation we have, the manufacturers of the drugs are not able to make ends meet with generic drugs and how much they get paid," Dr. Chaudhry said, adding that it's unclear what is really going on at the manufacturer level, but he says whatever it is needs to be figured out because he has had patients die who could not get access to their drugs.

"In many situations it can be life threatening," he said.

Christine Ard has been fortunate. Her doctor put her on a replacement drug that seems to working, and at the end of this month her treatments be will done and hopefully she will go living a cancer-free life.

"As far as we can tell I beat this one," she said.

Dr. Chaudhry says things are being done to figure out why the shortages are occurring and how to fix them, while the American Society of Clinical Oncology is lobbying Congress to help figure out what is going on and who is to blame.