KEY POINTS:
A breast cancer patient who is paying for her own Herceptin drug treatment has gone to the Human Rights Commission in a bid to get her money refunded.
Horowhenua woman Chris Walsh is spending around $90,000 for her course of Herceptin, a medication which treats the aggressive Her2-positive type of breast cancer.
Although Herceptin is subsidised for women with late-stage Her2-positive cancer, Pharmac has declined funding the drug for women in the early stages of the disease.
Women with early-stage Her2-positive cancer have access to funded Herceptin in 23 out of 28 OECD nations.
"The grounds that I'm putting my case forward on, I hope, is a disability," Ms Walsh told Radio New Zealand.
"I've had a removal of a breast and I'm being denied the special services or facilities (I need)."
Ms Walsh had been told by the commission it would contact Pharmac and she could expect a meeting with chief commissioner Ros Noonan in early March.
Ms Walsh said Pharmac's estimate of a $30 million price tag for fully funding Herceptin was too high, and the real cost would be closer to $20 million.
Pharmac's decision in July last year not to pay for the drug was based on an argument that there wasn't any published information to support its funding.
"We now have published data that came out in early January, which Pharmac has now promised to revisit," Ms Walsh said.
However, there had been "other things happening in the wings", which meant it was still very unlikely Herceptin would be funded.
Ms Walsh said she believed that in the context of the way the entire health system operated, there could be a bias against women with breast cancer.
In New Zealand about 320 women suffer from Her2 positive breast cancer, and about 40 women are paying for Herceptin treatment themselves.
Pharmac acting CEO Matthew Brougham said the agency respected Ms Walsh's right to complain to the commission, if she felt she had been discriminated against.
"Should a complaint be made, Pharmac will respond through the appropriate channels," Mr Brougham said.
Pharmac was continuing to assess clinical evidence in its consideration of funding for herceptin, he said.
- NZPA
