Hi all,
I'm new this forum so I appreciate your support and patience! I just found out that my cousin’s husband has metastatic stage IV melanoma. It’s spread to the superior part of his left lung, but nowhere else. He’s 32, and from what I've seen, he’s an amazing father and overall guy. His wife is currently pregant, complicating things further.
He is Romanian, as is most of my family. I haven’t lived there for many years and I don’t know the health care system well, but it doesn’t look very promising. According to Romanian law, cancer patients have the right to receive free medication, but drugs are very hard to find. They can be bought abroad, but this is a solution only for people who can afford it.
It sounds like opdivo or yervoy (or a combination of this and other treatments) are the best chances he has right now, which just can’t be found in Romania. Out of pocket, these drugs cost an obscene amount of money — which no one in my family has. Does anyone have any suggestions or new avenues to consider? I have no idea how payment for drugs or how loans work in Europe.
I've done some intiial research into clinical trials in the US and in Europe, and I was wondering if anyone here has any more information on them? From my cursory research, it seems that clinical trials in the US are open to non-US citizens, although I imagine this would be a barrier regardless. I live next to a major cancer center in the US that is recruting patients for a trial for his type of cancer. If there was a chance he could be accepted into one of these trials, I could take him to appointments and he could stay with me.
It sounds like health visas can be a little tricky but manageable if you have the logistics figured out (a citizen sponsoring you and proving that you have the money to afford your stay, etc.). My family could afford to fly him out here and cover the basic costs of his care, but obviously can't afford the whole treatment itself.
I guess the real question I have is about timing. How long is the process to get into a clinical trial? I assume that he doesn't have a ton of time, but it also doesn't seem like there is an alternative in Romania. Could anyone describe what the evaluation process is and generally how difficult it is to get accepted? I'm planning on calling some of these trials on Monday to see if I can find out more.
I've never had an experience with cancer before, and I'm just really down. I would appreciate any thoughts from people who know more about this type of cancer, or just have any ideas at all. Thanks so much.
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