Everyone who has, or has a
loved one with, a fatal disease, hopes and prays for a “miracle”
cure. Usually, promising new drugs are announced by the media with
big headlines, but then at the bottom of the article is the
disclaimer stating that it won't be out of the testing stage for ten
years or so. That's not very helpful, or hopeful to someone who's
doctor has told them that they only have months to live.
Recently though, several
articles about a new cancer drug,”Zytiga” give hope to patients
of prostate cancer that has metastasized into bone cancer;
1,088 prostate cancer
patients in 12 countries participated in the trial. Each man received
the standard low-dose prednisone treatment, with half also getting
Zytiga and the other receiving a placebo. Researchers almost
immediately discovered that, in the Zytiga group, the cancer
progressed at only half the speed as the control group, with patients
reporting significantly less pain and a noticeable delay before they
had to undertake chemo. The results are so stupendous that the trial
was canceled to allow every patient access to the drug.
Read
the entire article at:http://www.impactlab.net/2012/06/03/science-may-have-just-beaten-prostate-cancer/
My
brother's doctor wanted him to try a “new” drug, but it was very
expensive. (Four pills a day at $80 per pill!) He also suggested that
sometimes the drug companies would cover this expense in return for
patient feedback. John, (JC ) applied for this and was approved.
Johnson and Johnson promptly began sending Zytiga.
Over
the past several weeks, after at first undergoing painful and
debilitating side effects, JC has improved astonishingly. The change
in his appearance alone has amazed us, he went from a gray ghost
sitting in his living room covered with blankets to being able to get
up and work on projects around the house. He has color in his face
and a little spring in his hobble!
JC's
friend's and family are hoping and praying that Zytiga truly is a
“miracle drug!”
