Beamsville woman denied secondary cancer treatment

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After a rare allergic reaction to her chemotherapy, a Beamsville woman is being shut-down by the province who won’t pay for her secondary treatment options, forcing her to reach very deep into her pocket in order to save her life.

Wendy Andrews is a 44-year old mother of two, living with colon cancer. After a part of her colon was removed she underwent chemotherapy to wipe out cancer cells that were detected in her lymph nodes…that’s when it got complicated. She ended up in the hospital emergency room with an allergic reaction. After another dosage, Wendy reported chest pain and her oncologist suggested that the therapy be stopped.

Wendy’s only option was a drug called raltitrexed also called tomudex. It’s offered at Juravinski Cancer Centre – but she found out that OHIP doesn’t cover it.

Dr. William Hryniuk, is the former director of what is now the Juravinski Cancer Centre. He says that money is the reason why OHIP doesn’t cover that specific drug, due to the fact that the drug is used once the cancer gets worse – which hasn’t happened to wendy yet. Dr. Hryniuk believes that wendy’s situation is very rare and that there are steps she can take to get her treatment funded.

In the mean time, Wendy is doing what anyone would do – fight on