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Help Suzanne Aucoin
Nov. 19, 2005 - The St. Catharines Standard
Cancer fighter says 'government's letting me down': Forced to pay $3,500 per
week for treatments in U.S. while she waits for drug to be approved
The Standard (St. Catharines)
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Page: A3
Section: Local News
Byline: Peter Downs
Source: The Standard
Already battling a cancer that's trying to destroy her, Suzanne Aucoin doesn't know
how much longer she can fight the provincial government for fair access to medical
treatment.
The St. Catharines woman, who has terminal colon cancer, pays a clinic across the
border in West Seneca, N.Y., $3,500 US per week to be treated with an intravenous
drug -- Erbitux -- that is not yet approved for use in Ontario.
The six-month course of treatment she began three weeks ago will wind up costing
her $84,000 US.
And Aucoin, 35, cannot understand why she is being forced to pay for the drug when
the government is covering the costs of at least three patients with the same form of
cancer who are being treated at another clinic in nearby Buffalo.
"I'm finding it very difficult because I'm just so drained," she said Thursday, struggling
with her emotions.
"I just want to take care of myself. My job is to get well and I feel like my government's
letting me down because they're not doing their job."
Health Canada approved Erbitux for use in September, but each province must now
determine whether to fund the drug.
Ontario's Health Ministry hasn't even begun to review the drug because its
manufacturer -- Bristol-Myers Squibb -- hasn't yet applied to sell it in the province, said
ministry spokesman David Jensen.
Patients with advanced stages of cancer who have been told by their physicians that
Erbitux is the last known approved drug to prolong their lives -- such as Aucoin -- can
apply to OHIP for out-of-country coverage to pay for the drug.
Aucoin's application was turned down last month shortly before she began her first
round of treatment.
The ministry refuses to say how many cancer patients have been approved for
out-of-country OHIP coverage for Erbitux.
"We've approved some of the applications for out-of-country payment," Jensen told
The Standard. "I can't give out the number, though, because it gets into privacy issues
since it's a small number."
Jensen said applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
"(Approval) depends on the medical circumstances of each patient," he said.
And that's what has left Aucoin mystified, disillusioned and angry.
Aucoin said she knows of at least three patients whose cancer has advanced to the
same stage as hers who receive OHIP coverage for Erbitux treatment at a Buffalo clinic.
"I'm beyond frustrated," she said.
"I just find it ridiculous that I have to go to these lengths when the government is
glaringly wrong. They have all these inconsistencies, and I'm the one who suffers
because of it."
Aucoin has appealed the ministry's funding rejection with the assistance of a lawyer,
but she worries it could take months to sort out.
"I have so much to deal with already that I just really don't need any extra pressure on
my plate right now," she said.
Oakville resident Antonia Codispoti can sympathize with Aucoin's desperate situation.
She fought a similar battle to convince the government to cover the cost of Erbitux
for her husband Mario, who also has advanced colon cancer.
Mario, who was diagnosed with the disease five years ago, began receiving treatment
with the drug in July at a Buffalo clinic after winning approval from OHIP for
out-of-country coverage.
Antonia Codispoti maintained government bureaucrats are more concerned about
saving dollars than saving lives.
"By making it hard for these people, they're banking that they're going to eventually
die and they won't have to pay for them," said the retired high school teacher. "It
really is something that has to be addressed."
The couple's lengthy struggle to gain access to medical treatment showed them the
inequity of the health system, said Codispoti.
"There's something wrong with the system. There's something fundamentally inhumane
about it. They're not dealing with numbers. They're dealing with people."
Aucoin, who was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, has taken leave from
her position as a counsellor and chaplain at Denis Morris High School to concentrate
full time on her health. She is single and lives with her parents in Port Dalhousie.
Friends and supporters have raised nearly $130,000 to date through numerous
fundraising events to help her cover the cost of treatment. She's already spent more
than $52,000 on other treatments that aren't covered by the provincial government.
Aucoin said she and her fundraising committee will likely have to begin planning more
events if her appeal for OHIP coverage falls through.
"I have enough money for six months and then I'm done," she said.
As she awaits word on her appeal, Aucoin has mounted a letter-writing campaign aimed
to pressure the government to give colon cancer patients more equitable access to
Erbitux.
More information about the campaign is available on Aucoin's website
www.helpsuzanne.com
Cancer fighter says 'government's letting me down': Forced to pay $3,500 per
week for treatments in U.S. while she waits for drug to be approved
The Standard (St. Catharines)
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Page: A3
Section: Local News
Byline: Peter Downs
Source: The Standard
Already battling a cancer that's trying to destroy her, Suzanne Aucoin doesn't know
how much longer she can fight the provincial government for fair access to medical
treatment.
The St. Catharines woman, who has terminal colon cancer, pays a clinic across the
border in West Seneca, N.Y., $3,500 US per week to be treated with an intravenous
drug -- Erbitux -- that is not yet approved for use in Ontario.
The six-month course of treatment she began three weeks ago will wind up costing
her $84,000 US.
And Aucoin, 35, cannot understand why she is being forced to pay for the drug when
the government is covering the costs of at least three patients with the same form of
cancer who are being treated at another clinic in nearby Buffalo.
"I'm finding it very difficult because I'm just so drained," she said Thursday, struggling
with her emotions.
"I just want to take care of myself. My job is to get well and I feel like my government's
letting me down because they're not doing their job."
Health Canada approved Erbitux for use in September, but each province must now
determine whether to fund the drug.
Ontario's Health Ministry hasn't even begun to review the drug because its
manufacturer -- Bristol-Myers Squibb -- hasn't yet applied to sell it in the province, said
ministry spokesman David Jensen.
Patients with advanced stages of cancer who have been told by their physicians that
Erbitux is the last known approved drug to prolong their lives -- such as Aucoin -- can
apply to OHIP for out-of-country coverage to pay for the drug.
Aucoin's application was turned down last month shortly before she began her first
round of treatment.
The ministry refuses to say how many cancer patients have been approved for
out-of-country OHIP coverage for Erbitux.
"We've approved some of the applications for out-of-country payment," Jensen told
The Standard. "I can't give out the number, though, because it gets into privacy issues
since it's a small number."
Jensen said applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
"(Approval) depends on the medical circumstances of each patient," he said.
And that's what has left Aucoin mystified, disillusioned and angry.
Aucoin said she knows of at least three patients whose cancer has advanced to the
same stage as hers who receive OHIP coverage for Erbitux treatment at a Buffalo clinic.
"I'm beyond frustrated," she said.
"I just find it ridiculous that I have to go to these lengths when the government is
glaringly wrong. They have all these inconsistencies, and I'm the one who suffers
because of it."
Aucoin has appealed the ministry's funding rejection with the assistance of a lawyer,
but she worries it could take months to sort out.
"I have so much to deal with already that I just really don't need any extra pressure on
my plate right now," she said.
Oakville resident Antonia Codispoti can sympathize with Aucoin's desperate situation.
She fought a similar battle to convince the government to cover the cost of Erbitux
for her husband Mario, who also has advanced colon cancer.
Mario, who was diagnosed with the disease five years ago, began receiving treatment
with the drug in July at a Buffalo clinic after winning approval from OHIP for
out-of-country coverage.
Antonia Codispoti maintained government bureaucrats are more concerned about
saving dollars than saving lives.
"By making it hard for these people, they're banking that they're going to eventually
die and they won't have to pay for them," said the retired high school teacher. "It
really is something that has to be addressed."
The couple's lengthy struggle to gain access to medical treatment showed them the
inequity of the health system, said Codispoti.
"There's something wrong with the system. There's something fundamentally inhumane
about it. They're not dealing with numbers. They're dealing with people."
Aucoin, who was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, has taken leave from
her position as a counsellor and chaplain at Denis Morris High School to concentrate
full time on her health. She is single and lives with her parents in Port Dalhousie.
Friends and supporters have raised nearly $130,000 to date through numerous
fundraising events to help her cover the cost of treatment. She's already spent more
than $52,000 on other treatments that aren't covered by the provincial government.
Aucoin said she and her fundraising committee will likely have to begin planning more
events if her appeal for OHIP coverage falls through.
"I have enough money for six months and then I'm done," she said.
As she awaits word on her appeal, Aucoin has mounted a letter-writing campaign aimed
to pressure the government to give colon cancer patients more equitable access to
Erbitux.
More information about the campaign is available on Aucoin's website
www.helpsuzanne.com