cancer

RECENT POSTS

February 16, 2012 | 5:23 PM | By

FDA Warns California Clinics of Fake Avastin

By Kamal Menghrajani

(Courtesy: Genentech)

(Courtesy: Genentech)

A counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin may have made its way into clinics here in California. The medicine is used to treat colon, lung, and other cancers, but several physicians may have unwittingly been giving patients a useless knock-off.

You may remember Avastin because it was considered a blockbuster drug for breast cancer treatment. That was until November of last year, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pulled its approval for treating the disease. However, Avastin is still widely used for other types of cancer.

Earlier this month, the FDA sent letters to 19 doctors around the country warning that they may have fake Avastin. Sixteen of these physicians are here in California, all of them in Southern California.

The FDA says these clinics purchased the medicine from a foreign supplier under the names “Quality Specialty Products” or “Montana Health Care Solutions.” Volunteer Distribution, a company based in Tennessee, funneled the fake vials out to clinics. The company was not licensed by drugmaker Genentech to provide Avastin, and some doctors’ offices were fooled. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Money, Avastin, cancer, FDA, Genetech
January 20, 2012 | 10:36 AM | By

A New Voice for A Cancer Patient

Cancer survivor Rene Foreman (right) with her daughter, Michelle. (Photo: StoryCorps)

Cancer survivor Rene Foreman (right) with her daughter, Michelle. (Photo: StoryCorps)

As I got in my car to go work this morning, I switched on NPR. Instead of the predictable sounds of host/reporter/interviewee, I was confused by what sounded like a computer talking.

Then I was riveted.

What I was hearing was the story of Rene Foreman, an Orange County woman, who had lost her voice box to cancer in 1999. Foreman’s piece is part of the StoryCorps project. As NPR reports, Rene now uses an electrolarynx. It’s a small device that Foreman holds against her throat to produce her voice, electronically.

Yes, initially she sounds something like a creature from Star Wars, but right away, I got past the strangeness. Foreman says she’s happier without her voice now than she was with her voice. She says, “it’s a small price to pay for being alive.” In addition, she enjoys the distinction that her unusual “voice” provides:

“People are really very kind, once they realize what the situation is,” she says. “I may go into a restaurant once, and if I go back there a year later, and it’s the same woman at the front desk, she’ll say, ‘Where have you been? We haven’t seen you for a while.’ So, I feel like a movie star.”

You have to listen to this remarkable woman speak to get the full impact of her story. The NPR feature is not even three minutes long. I guarantee if you hear five seconds of Foreman talking, you’ll be hooked.

FILED UNDER: You're the Boss, cancer