Cancer drug advocate dies
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(Update)
The Milton mother who fought the Ontario government to get the cost of her cancer medication covered — has died. Kimm Fletcher was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in 2010. Last year, she went public with her plea to Health Minister Deb Matthews to convince OHIP to fund ‘Avastin’ — a drug she thought would prolong her life.
Fletcher’s husband Scott issued a statement Monday thanking everyone who supported his wife and family through thoughts, prayers and donations — and he encouraged everyone to keep the conversation going.
When Kimm Fletcher visited Queen’s Park last fall, she wasn’t looking for a cure to her stage four brain tumor — just more time.
The mother of two, pleaded for the province to fund Avastin — it’s Health Canada approved for her treatment. But Ontario only funds the drug to treat colorectal cancer.
Even after receiving little hope from Health Minister Deb Matthews — Fletcher continued to fight: “Obviously we’re going to continue on. We’re not going to give up cause this is my family.”
With the help of donations, she continued to take Avastin at a cost of about 8-thousand dollars a month. In a statement, her husband Scott writes: “With that extra time, we created many memories with our children. This was a priceless gift. And when she got to Great Wolf Lodge on March 27th to celebrate our daughter’s 8th birthday, she was at peace. She was ready to accept what was to come.”
Minister Matthews called her death heartbreaking news: “We’ve tripled funding for cancer fighting drugs because we really want everyone to get the very best chance. we rely on evidence, we rely on experts to make these decisions.”
PC Leader Tim Hudak: “I expect Ontario to be first on the list for new drugs that would given Kimm Flecher more time with her daughters before she passed away. we can do a lot better.”
Two weeks ago, Fletcher entered Ian Anderson House Hospice to continue her care. But before going she wrote a final message to her supporters on a fundraising site saying in part: “I am grateful to have these months and the new friends that have entered our life. To my friends and family it has been an incredible journey and for those you I may have helped and inspired, it is your pain and struggle that I look to to help me continue my fight.”
Avastin has been approved for use in treating brain tumors in B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Fletcher leaves behind her husband, a daughter and a son. She was 41.
