13 Sep 2018

Dying cancer patients' chemo reaction costs thousands

From Morning Report, 6:38 am on 13 September 2018

A Wellington cancer patient with a rare reaction to common chemo drugs is paying thousands of dollars for an alternative because her case isn't considered rare enough. Seventy-one-year-old Janet McMenamin was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer three months ago. She's now paying almost $2,500 for every round of treatment using Tomudex which will help prolong her life. She told RNZ health correspondent Karen Brown what happened when she had regular chemotherapy.