Incurable Diseases Afflicting the World

¶ … incurable diseases afflicting the world today, cancer is perhaps the most common and the most depressing. Individuals diagnosed with late-stage cancer are often given a grim estimate of their remaining life. Though there are many varieties of cancer affecting vastly different segments of society, the development of cancer is remarkably similar throughout all of these varieties. Certain cells in the human body mutate and start attacking other cells, killing off our "normal" cells, resulting in a weakening of various bodily functions and processes. For those "fortunate" enough to have developed a form of cancer for which there is a medical treatment, the cancer treatments available are extremely painful, as they typically aim to kill cancerous cells through blanket radiation, which kills normal, healthy cells along with cancerous cells.

A new cancer treatment recently approved by the FDA promises a new approach to cancer treatment. (Elsevier) the treatment, Sipuleucel-T, attempts to fight cancerous cells by injecting cancer-resistant cells into the body of a Prostate Cancer patient. These cancer-resistant cells are created from the cells of the patient herself. Doctors extract white blood cells from the patient's body and incubate the cells with cancerous antigens and a benign immunity stimulating. (Kantoff 411) by stimulating the immunitative properties of the white blood cells and exposing them to cancerous antigens, the white blood cells develop an immunity to the cancerous cells. (Kantoff 411) These enhanced white blood cells are then injected back into the body of the Prostate Cancer patient to trigger an immune response against cancer cells carrying that particular antigen. (Kantoff 412)

The Economics of Expensive Cancer Treatment

Sipuleucel-T was developed by Seattle Biotech firm Dendreon, which is marketing the treatment under the brand-name Provenge. (Bloomberg) the cost of a full treatment regimen for Provenge is $93,000. (Associated Press) Despite its substantial cost, an influential panel of Medicare advisers has recently announced its support of Provenge, implying that the nation's Medicare program should pay for it. (Associated Press) the support of the Medicare program would be a huge victory for Dendreon because Prostate Cancer typically afflicts older men, many of which receive support from Medicare. (Associated Press) This means that patients would be able to decide whether or not to undergo treatment with Provenge irrespective of cost.

The subsidization of expensive medical treatments by the Medicare program is actually nothing new. Medicare already pays for other expensive cancer treatments from companies such as Genentech and Eli Lilly. (Associated Press) However, the recent backlash against government expenditures on healthcare has compelled the Medicare program to give closer scrutiny to the drugs it agrees to cover. There were many who were surprised, and offended, that the Medicare program even considered the possibility of not covering Provenge treatments. (Associated Press) These people believe that the federal government's commitment to cover the health care costs of older individuals is absolute. They believe that this responsibility does not have a price limit.