HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Am I the only cynic re drug companies and cancer?

06-04-2007, 08:59 AM

Just read the following from a Google alert:

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer AG said a study found their Nexavar drug is the first to help people live longer with liver cancer, driving Onyx's shares up as much as 9.8 percent. Those who took Nexavar in the trial lived a median time of 10.7 months compared with 7.9 months for patients on a placebo, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. The difference meant patients lived 44 percent longer, researchers said.

Does this hype annoy anyone else out there besides me? People who know I have cancer will tell me about these announcements with great excitment--"I hear there's a new drug that cures cancer," they'll say. Most people who know about herceptin and don't have breast cancer, think it's a cure because of the way the news is presented. And that--in my opinion--makes it more difficult to actually get cures. I particuarly hate the "44 percent longer" statistic. The reality is: less than three months more of life, and at what cost? I am a cynic, I know, but it would help to know that others out there agree, at least a little bit. I feel very lonely and angry at times, and particularly now, after Sandy's death. Like everyone else on this board, I've done my share of crying this weekend--and admittedly, mourning my own future, and hoping for something that is not incremental, but a cure.

06-04-2007, 08:59 AM	#1
Grace Guest Posts: n/a	Am I the only cynic re drug companies and cancer? Just read the following from a Google alert: June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer AG said a study found their Nexavar drug is the first to help people live longer with liver cancer, driving Onyx's shares up as much as 9.8 percent. Those who took Nexavar in the trial lived a median time of 10.7 months compared with 7.9 months for patients on a placebo, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. The difference meant patients lived 44 percent longer, researchers said. Does this hype annoy anyone else out there besides me? People who know I have cancer will tell me about these announcements with great excitment--"I hear there's a new drug that cures cancer," they'll say. Most people who know about herceptin and don't have breast cancer, think it's a cure because of the way the news is presented. And that--in my opinion--makes it more difficult to actually get cures. I particuarly hate the "44 percent longer" statistic. The reality is: less than three months more of life, and at what cost? I am a cynic, I know, but it would help to know that others out there agree, at least a little bit. I feel very lonely and angry at times, and particularly now, after Sandy's death. Like everyone else on this board, I've done my share of crying this weekend--and admittedly, mourning my own future, and hoping for something that is not incremental, but a cure.