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In news that will come as a relief to many Australian women, a new drug called olaparib has today been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
The development will no doubt be celebrated across the country, not just as today marks the first day of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, but because it’s set to offer tremendous hope to relapsed patients battling the devastating illness.
What’s changing?
Approved by the Therapeutic Goods Adminstration (TGA) in January last year, olaparib was previously only available to a small number of women who could afford to participate in a clinical trial at the steep cost of $13,500 for six months.
Now, with the PBS listing, women will be able to access the drug for no more than $38 a month.
“The listing of olaparib on the PBS is one of the most significant developments in 30 years for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer among women who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation,” CEO of Ovarian Cancer Australia, Jane Hill, tells Now To Love.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations can increase a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer from 1% in the general population to 59% (BRCA1) and around 17% (BRCA2).
“Although not a cure, Olaparib is a significant development as it delays disease recurrence. This means women with advanced ovarian cancer can continue to live their lives as fully and normally as possible without succumbing to the often debilitating effects of chemotherapy.”
“It is a promising indication that new and improved therapies can, and will, be found.”
Actor Pierce Brosnan tragically lost his daughter Charlotte, 41, following her three-year struggle with ovarian cancer.
How this has already changed an ovarian cancer patient’s life
Gayle Doyle, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2013, was one of the few to have access to olaparib through a Compassionate Access Scheme in December 2014. Since, the 59-year-old ACT local’s quality of life has been dramatically changed.
“Olaparib has provided me with two years of wellness. It has given me strength of mind, the strength to talk about my experience with ovarian cancer and the strength to continue my fight,” Gale tells us, adding that she now lives a full life.
“Many of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer and who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation may now have their life expectancy increased with the availability of olaparib, and the listing on the PBS makes it much more affordable.
“It was terrible to think that this treatment had been available but was out of the financial reach of many women.”
How can Aussie women get this treatment?
To qualify for the ground-breaking treatment, women will first undergo a blood test to analyse DNA, which as Dr Melody Caramins, head of genetics for SDS Pathology, explains, “will detect mutations in any of the two BRCA genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2)”.
“By using BRCA testing before administering Olaparib to the patient, doctors can avoid prescribing the drug to a woman who is unlikely to benefit from it, therefore saving them unnecessary treatment and side effects.
How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 25. “I was 25. Life was pretty simple. But suddenly it was all I could think about.”
The grip ovarian cancer currently holds on Australian women
Each year, more than 1,500 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, with 1,200 women dying from the disease. It is the deadliest women’s cancer with only a 43 per cent survival rate for women five years beyond diagnosis.
This is largely due to the fact that 75 per cent of diagnoses occur at an advanced stage, rendering treatment more difficult.
Risk factors include:
Being over 50
Inability to have children, never having children or having children after 30
Never having used oral contraceptives
Having endometriosis
Smoking, being overweight or consuming a high fat diet
Early menstruation (before age 12), or late menopause (onset after 50)
Ms Hill says the most common symptoms associated include: “abdominal or pelvic pain, increased abdominal pain or persistent abdominal bloating, the need to urinate often or urgently or feeling full after eating a small amount.”
Consult your trusted GP to find out more information about ovarian cancer and the new treatments involved.
