[ad_1]
A radical therapy against cancer saved Violet Uhi, a schoolgirl from Melbourne, but she had to go abroad to get it.
Now, more children and their families will have free access to the revolutionary treatment of chimeric antigen receptor T cells in Melbourne, with two hospitals offering treatment.
Immunotherapy will be available at the Royal Children's Hospital and at the Peter McCallum Cancer Center, announced Sunday the federal and state governments.
The Uhi family went to the United States last year after discovering that eight-year-old Violet's acute lymphoblastic leukemia had returned for the second time.
"It's scary not to know what will happen to your child and to know that there are no treatment options available in Australia, which have been emotional enough to that Violet really had a trying experience, "said mother Tess Uhi to the press.
The cancer of the blood was diagnosed for the first time to the girl. Despite a series of chemotherapies, the cancer is back.
But after moving to Seattle for four months last year to get treatment, her cancer is now in remission and Violet is back in school.
"She's booming," said Uhi about her daughter.
The family would have had to sell their home and borrow money if they did not receive a grant to pay for the expensive treatment, which can cost about $ 500,000 per patient.
The program is jointly funded by the federal and Victorian governments and approximately 30 patients a year will receive treatment.
"These brave, cancer-fighting young people will now be able to benefit from the life-saving therapy they need without leaving the country," Victoria Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said Sunday.
Children and other young people from countries with blood cancer will also benefit from immunotherapy in Victoria, she said.
Treatment centers for therapy, known as Kymriah, are also planned in other parts of the country.
Until now, the treatment has already been used to treat seven young people in Victoria, said Sunday Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
He added that a process to develop treatment for adults was underway.
"I will not set a timetable, but I hope we can do it as soon as possible," he told reporters.
In 2017, 105 new acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnoses were reported in Australia, of which 60 were children or young adults.
Australian Associated Press
[ad_2]
Source link
