[donocco]

Cathya

There is a lot of hope for the future but there is also a big problem. Not that it cant be solved. Im referring to the FDA. If you have a job you have to keep the boss satisfied. This is a statement as true as "every day you get a day older." The please the boss thing =keep your job really isnt up for debate

The FDAs boss is Congress. The FDA became extremely powerful after Congress past the Kefauver-Harris ammendment in 1962 after the Thalidomide tragedy in Europe. Its 2017 now not 1962.

Every boss has a boss. Congress is bossed by the lobbys who give them campaign contributions. The American voters only have supreme importance on election day. As far as I see it the main Lobbies in the Heallth Care system are the Drug Companies and the Insurance companies. These two lobbys are at odds with each other. The drug companies want to sell their drugs and the insurance companies hate paying for them. The FDA is caught in the middle as to keep their jobs they have to please both lobbies. Not that easy. Whats is a possible solution of pleasing two opposing lobbies.

One solution is to approve an expensive cancer drug ( Drug lobby happy) but for a single type of cancer and even then only after Chemo A,B,and C have been tried. This is basically what is being done. You can see the paradox. The media message is get your mammogram, colonoscopy whatever and find cancer early. But all newly approved drugs are for advanced cancer after Chemos AB and C have been tried. This saves the in surance companies a lot of money. Now both lobbies are happy. Supoose they find a type of Herpes virus that attacks 7 different types of cancer cells (including breast cancer of most types) and the FDA approval says the attacking virus is approved for advanced non small cell lung carcinoma after Adrriamycin, A Platinum chemo and a Taxane have been tried. This is not going to help breast cancer patients.

If this sounds paranoid and off the deep end it isnt . Take Movantik. Its not a chemo, it is used to treat the constipation of opiate narcotics a big problem in cancer when you consider the high doses of say Morphine needed to control pain. This kind of opiate constipation is not the funny "occasional irregularity" euphimism you see on TV commercials.

Yet the FDA approval for Movantik specifically says Movantil is FDA approved for non cancer opiate induced constipation. Do you think this is an accident? I dont.

Paul