Advocacy :: Medication

Before a new treatment is available, Health Canada conducts a rigorous approval process to ensure it is safe and effective.

Once the treatment is approved, the provincial governments decide if they will provide funding for the treatment. Sometimes a treatment has been approved by Health Canada, but is not funded by the provincial government. This means that patients may have to pay out of their own pockets for access to these treatments.

However, people like you can advocate for access to these treatments. Provincial political leaders and representatives are greatly influenced by public opinion overall and, in particular, by the issues raised by the people who live within their ridings.

Exjade

In October, 2006, Health Canada approved the first oral iron chelation treatment, Exjade, for iron overload, addressing an unmet medical need among patients requiring regular blood transfusions and who, as a result, have iron overload. Exjade (deferasirox) is an effective medication for iron overload: it improves the patients' quality of life, limits administration costs, represents a cost-effective use of health-care resources, is preferred by many patients and may lead to improved patient compliance with treatment.

An oral iron chelator allows patients to lead normal lives, without cumbersome painful infusions avoiding the life-threatening complications of iron overload.

AAMAC's Ontario chapter is working to ensure that Exjade is accessible to all MDS patients in Ontario who need iron chelation therapy by urging the government to fund this breakthrough treatment.

Here is a video of an MDS patient advocating for Exjade funding.

MDS is an uncommon disease so the more voices, the better our chances of being heard. If you contact your MP, please remember to let us know.

For more information or to join our email list for updates, email info@aamac.ca.