Roanoke cancer patient scrambles to find treatment drug following shortage

Roanoke cancer patient scrambles to find treatment drug following shortage (Image 1) (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - A Roanoke barber learned he has an aggressive form of cancer, but that wasn't a surprising as what he learned about the treatment he would need - there's a shortage and only one company makes it.

For many who visit Lee Hall's barber shop, talk is as much a part of the experience as the iconic red and white barber's pole outside. But Hall talks more than sports with the guys in his chair. 

Recommended Videos



Hall was diagnosed with bladder cancer; a tumor that would require surgery. Lee said his doctor prescribed a drug called Tice BCG to treat the aggressive disease. 

"I was supposed to have six treatments, one every Monday at 1 o'clock," he explained. "The first treatment fine. They called me the next week on Friday and said they didn't have any more of the treatments. So I didn't have to come in Monday."

When the same thing happened the next week, Lee said, "After missing two treatments I was kind of getting worried."

That's when he learned there was a shortage of what he was told was the most effective drug to keep his cancer at bay. Carilion urologist Dr. Judy Chun doesn't treat Lee, but explains why BCG is often the go-to treatment in cases of high grade bladder cancer.

"It's where the cells lining the bladder are abnormal, so even if you reset those cells that are showing the cancer, other cells have the potential to develop and form cancer in different spots. That's why BCG is so helpful because it bathes the lining of the bladder and improves your body's immune response to fight these cancer cells," Dr. Chun explained. 

Without it, doctors say, the chances of the cancer recurring or progressing increases.

"If you do it on a regular basis, it's kind of like a booster to try and keep recurrences down as well as any progression too invasive bladder cancer," Chun said. She explained, physicians are often beholden to pharmaceutical companies to make the medicines available.

For the last three years, there's been just one maker of BCG. Merck became the only source of the drug in many countries, including the United States, when another company stopped production. Last year, a smaller company did the same.

Drug shortages aren't uncommon, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it works to prevent issues from turning into shortages. A spokeswoman explained, the agency will reach out to other manufacturers, as it says it did in the case of BCG, to help make up the gap. The FDA says it will also expedite inspections from companies trying to increase production for a product in shortage.

In 2012, new legislation pertaining to drug shortages became law. According to the FDA, early notification from manufacturers about possible shortages, as requested in the President's Executive Order 13588 of Oct. 31, 2011 and then codified into law in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 (FDASIA), has enabled FDA to work with manufacturers to restore production of many lifesaving therapies.

In a release from Merk for this report, the company said in the last two years, it has increased production of the medicine by more than 100 percent to help with the increased demand, but still can't make up for the supply previously provided by it and other companies.

In March, Merck announced it was shipping supplies of BCG, but given demand was higher than supplies, it expected back-orders of up to 8-weeks for the remainder of 2015 and into 2016.

"I called everywhere. I mean everywhere, every hospital, cancer center in the USA, everywhere," Lee said. "Nobody had it."

His effort eventually paid off. Lee Found the VA hospital in Salem had a limited number of doses. As a Navy veteran, he can receive treatment there. But Lee said it's only a temporary relief. 

"Yeah, but if it comes back, I'll have to go through the treatments again. Yes, indeed I'm very worried and I'm not just worried for me I'm worried about everybody else," Lee said.

Rather than spending energy worrying about those who may need the drug and can't get it, he's focusing on education; warning his customers while he has their ears. 

"Every one of them. Everyone of them. Because they may have it one day," Lee said.
Â