Pharmac's new drug funding brings relief for burdened patients

A couple set to sell their home to fund cancer treatment can now stay put after a major drug funding proposal from Pharmac. Under the proposal which was posted on Pharmac's website late yesterday, three new treatments will be funded from December 1. They are Alecitnib for lung cancer, Kadcyla for breast cancer and Ocrevus for relapsing remitting MS. The announcement was posted on Pharmac's website yesterday as Troy Elliott's wife Tracey was receiving a Kadcyla infusion. They'd recently placed their house on the market so they could continue paying for the treatment - but Mr Elliott told our producer Lydia Batham they can now stay put. And Rae Collins has been self-funding Alectinib after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year - she says the news has lifted a weight off her shoulders.