Nova Scotia won't cover Avastin drug costs

Nova Scotia will cover the costs of two new drugs for cancer patients, but Avastin isn't one of them.

'The effect of this decision is that Nova Scotians are going to die before they should' —Jim Connors,who has been paying forAvastin treatments

The province announced Friday that it will fund Oxaliplatin, a drug used in the early treatment of colorectal cancer, instead of Avastin, an expensive drug used in the late stage of the disease.

For Jim Connors,who has been footing the bill for his Avastin treatments, it's a huge disappointment.

"The effect of this decision is that Nova Scotians are going to die before they should, and that's clearly on the minister and on the premier's shoulders," said Connors, one of about 100 Nova Scotians with late-stage colorectal cancer.

Avastin stops the blood supply to cancerous tumours, extending the lives of some patients in the late stages of the diseaseby about five months, studies have shown.

The drug isalso expensive. Thebill for one patient is about $3,000 a month and covering the drug would cost the province an estimated $3.6 million a year.

'Very difficult decision,' health official says

Brenda Payne, the executive director of acute and tertiary care for the Department of Health, said deciding which drugs to cover is never easy.

"Making choices about which drug to fund, recognizing how difficult that will be for some individuals who are experiencing that type of cancer, is a very difficult decision to make," she said.

The provincebased its decision onthe recommendations of a 23-memberdrug therapy committee, which includesoncologists and cancer survivors.

For the second time, the committee recommended that the province not cover Avastin.

The committee looked at both the cost of drugs and new evidence, and concluded Avastin doesn't offer the same potential as Oxaliplatin in early cancer stages, according to a release from the province.

Payne said the best defence against colorectal cancer is early screening. The disease can almost always be stopped when it's caught early, she said.

Will also fund leukemia drug Mab Campath

Starting Aug. 1, the provincial drug plan will include Oxaliplatinand Mab Campath, which treats chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Together,the twonewcancer drugs and three others previously recommended by the drug-therapy committee cost about $7.5 million a year.

"We have many new cancer drugs coming and no government in this country has enough funds to fund all of them," said Payne.

Avastin iscovered in British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Connors andthe Colorectal Association of Canada say Nova Scotia should cover both Avastin and Oxaliplatin.

Last month, Health Minister Chris d'Entremont said "public opinion" would be a factor in his final decision about Avastin after he was presented with a 2,200-signature petition.

About 700 people in Nova Scotia develop colorectal cancer every year.