Drug shortages
On February 21, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is taking major steps to address a critical shortage of cancer drugs that has left patients without lifesaving medications such as Doxil and Methotrexate.

The American Cancer Society and ACS CAN have been closely monitoring the growing drug shortage crisis, which has made it difficult or impossible for some cancer patients to get the medications they need to save their lives. The overall number of drugs in shortage has grown dramatically in recent years, from 56 drugs in 2006 to a record 178 drugs in 2010. More than 275 drugs were reported in shortage in 2011. In some cases, cancer patients and their families have been completely unable to obtain necessary drugs. In other cases, patients have been forced to pay exorbitant prices through the emerging “grey market,” where drugs in short supply are sold legally at a reported cost of up to 650 percent of the original price.
We will continue to advocate for a long-term solution that will guarantee the efficient and effective exchange of information as well as a plan to accelerate production of drugs in imminent and existing shortages. A safe and consistent supply of evidence-based therapies is critical to ensure cancer patients have the best opportunity to fight their disease.

If you or someone you know has had to delay treatment due to a drug shortage, please let us know. We need stories to share with members of Congress.

Bills to Make Colon Cancer Screening More Affordable and Accessible Introduced in Congress
Critical legislation introduced recently in the U.S. House of Representatives would ensure that cost is not a barrier for Medicare beneficiaries to access lifesaving colon cancer screenings. The ‘Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012’ H.R. 4120 would eliminate cost sharing for Medicare beneficiaries receiving a colonoscopy, even if a polyp is removed.

Under current Medicare policy routine colonoscopies are considered a free preventive service; however, cost sharing is required if a polyp is removed during the routine colonoscopy. Colonoscopies have been shown to prevent colon cancer, but this cost may serve as a barrier for some people seeking to get the screening, since a patient won’t find out whether a precancerous polyp or other abnormality needs to be removed until after the procedure is complete. The risk of any cost-sharing can be a deterrent from getting the screening.

In addition to this legislation, another bill would create a national program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide grants to states for screening low-income individuals who cannot afford to get tested. The program would bridge the gap for men and women who are within the recommended age for colon cancer screening but may not be able to access the new benefits under the Affordable Care Act.

The screening program created by this legislation would be modeled after the successful National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, a CDC-run national program which offers lifesaving cancer screenings to low-income and medically underserved women and provides a gateway to treatment through Medicaid. Since 1990, more than 10 million screening exams have been performed through the program for four million women, resulting in the detection of more than 50,000 cases of breast cancer and saving untold number of lives.