Cancer fight carries higher price for Aucklanders

By FRANCESCA MOLD

Barbara Peters is winning her battle against cancer, but only after her children mortgaged their house to pay for treatment that the public health system refuses to finance.

The 65-year-old woman has been forced to pay $23,000 for potentially life-saving treatment because she lives in Auckland - the only region that has a policy of not funding new cancer therapies from the public purse.

Under health policy, each of the country's six hospitals that provide oncology treatment are able to decide whether they will pay for new cancer drugs.

Cancer specialists say this policy has created significant inconsistencies in treatment available to patients, depending on where they live and the attitude of their hospital and health service.

Mrs Peters, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer two years ago, had surgery to remove the tumour and standard chemotherapy, which was funded by Auckland Healthcare. When she was offered the option of chemotherapy with a newer agent, known as Camptosar, she discovered she would have to cover the cost herself.

Mrs Peters said her children told her there was no question of going without the treatment - they mortgaged their house to raise funds.

She says it is despicable that she should be made to pay after contributing taxes throughout her 26 years of working and bringing up her family of four children alone after the death of her husband.

"I'm appalled by the whole thing. I don't think people realise or believe that it will cost them until they get in the situation themselves. People should be able to get the same treatment whether they are rich or poor."

Cancer specialists say a change in health policy for dealing with new oncology drugs is well overdue.

Oncologist and Cancer Society medical director Dr Peter Dady said that inconsistencies in the treatment available to New Zealand patients were a "long-running scandal."

"It demonstrates the stupidity of the health reforms and shows what happens when you have a piecemeal approach to healthcare and divide the country up into different regions."

Dr Dady said that cancer specialists had raised their concerns "God knows how many times" but they had been consistently ignored.

A new working party, involving oncologists, the Ministry of Health, the Health Funding Authority and Pharmac, has been set up to look at the problem of high-cost cancer therapies and the inconsistent treatment.

An Auckland-based oncologist, Dr Vernon Harvey, said that he hoped the working party would come up with an efficient process for assessing the usefulness of new drugs and then ensure that all New Zealanders had equal access to them.

"Everyone recognises there is some rationing needed, but what is not fair is that at the moment it is a complete lottery depending on where you live," said Dr Harvey.

Health Funding Authority spokeswoman Jane Lyon said the working party would examine the priority for cancer drugs against other health needs as well as developing a process for assessing the new therapies and reviewing contract prices.

She said the authority's primary concern was that all New Zealanders should have equal access to cancer treatment.