'If it was my child, I'd be using it.’: A Strathroy family is faced with paying their own way for immunotherapy
Last November, 24-year-old Kyle McPhee was diagnosed with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, "It started in my liver and it's, kind of, spread to other parts. Mostly pockets in my lungs."
The cancer targets young people with normal liver function and no known risk factors. It is extremely rare.
"Maybe two thousand people in the world,” said Kim McPhee, Kyle’s mom. “In Canada, maybe 200 a year. They can't get studies because there aren't enough people."
That's the catch for the McPhee family. They've been told by Kyle’s oncologist and other health professionals that immunotherapy may be the best course of action for Kyle. However, there hasn't been any research about the effectiveness of the treatment on the form of cancer he has.
It has worked for other rare forms of cancer. That’s why Kyle’s dad, Paul, was puzzled when he learned his family couldn’t get funding approval through OHIP.
"Our oncologist said to us, 'If it was my child, I'd be using it,’" said Paul.
The funding approval would be for two drugs, Atezolizumab and Bevacizumab, used in combination for the immunotherapy treatment.
They are treatments, Paul McPhee revealed, that cost $9,000 per session.
"It's when it's expensive, like this one, they have to go through an approval process, get financing for it and it's like… yeah,” he added.
The McPhee's are now trying to raise enough money on their own for four treatments over four months, hoping that a $36,000 investment will show promise and open the door to at least partial OHIP funding for ongoing treatments.
Kyle admitted there are no guarantees with the strategy, "There's still the chance that, even if it does work, they would still say no. That's kind of... That doesn't make much sense to me."
In the interim, Kyle's aunt has started a GoFundMe page and Kyle is undergoing chemotherapy.
As for what's next? Paul McPhee chokes back his emotions when that question is raised.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Iran's judiciary confirms rapper Toomaj Salehi death sentence
Iran's judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported on Thursday.