Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Gratitude for a new Cause


I haven't said anything about this because it hasn't been my news to share. My sister was recently diagnosed with CML, a type of leukemia. It has been rather scary and sobering. She finally saw an oncologist yesterday. She was told that while the treatment is very expensive, there is a pill that she can take that will stop the abnormal production of her white cells. She will have to stay on this pill the rest of her life. They are 200$ each. One a day. 6000$ a month.
For now, she is employed and has health insurance. We are hopeful that she will be able to get most of the costs covered. She works in a little rural postoffice and so we are nervous about what may happen when her office is closed and she is likely to lose her job. But for now it feels like the most amazing gift to be told there is a pill you can take that will take care of your cancer, have a nice life. It is amazing to me that someone worked on this and invented this incredible thing. I feel a need to support that kind of research out of gratitude for work that they have done and continue to do. If you are interested, here is a link to their website. http://www.lls.org/
Happy Holidays!

3 comments:

Cynthia said...

Except for the expensive part - that is amazing news! I didn't know there was such a thing as taking a pill to take care of a cancer issue. Amazing!
I am so relieved for your sister.

Christina Martinez said...

I'm sorry that your sister and all of you are dealing with this but I feel like I'm living in the future! A pill to help her with her cancer? I hope she gets the help she needs and continues to live a long happy life.

Dianne said...

I did not know this! Tell her I will be praying for her.
My daughter has Crohn's and there was a pill (actually 8 a day) that she will have to always take. It cost $200 a month even after the insurance, but now that it is older and the patent has expired there is a generic version that is only a fraction of the cost. Hopefully this will happen to this pill before long.