Oncology Drug shortage

Specialties Oncology

Published

You are reading page 2 of Oncology Drug shortage

tewdles, RN

3,156 Posts

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

I thought you might find this interesting http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/News/chemotherapy-drug-shortages-concern-doctors-and-patients

So do we have a shortage of drugs like 5FU and leucovorin because the manufacturers want to transition us to newer and more profitable drugs? What? How about let the MDs and patients decide which drug regime they use rather than have it force fed them by big pharma.

tewdles, RN

3,156 Posts

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

duplicate post...chemo brain

eagle78

304 Posts

I thought you might find this interesting http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/News/chemotherapy-drug-shortages-concern-doctors-and-patients

So do we have a shortage of drugs like 5FU and leucovorin because the manufacturers want to transition us to newer and more profitable drugs? What? How about let the MDs and patients decide which drug regime they use rather than have it force fed them by big pharma.

Thanks for the link. I hope that everything works out for you and your treatments. May God stregthen you as you face this trial.

jaschen

2 Posts

This is a very frightening and distressing reality. People need to write, write, write their congressmen and let them know how this is affecting them and their patients. I really think until congress gets involved this will only become worse.

tewdles, RN

3,156 Posts

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Actually, many voting people in America right now want government LESS involved in corporate/manufacturing affairs at this time. There is a bunch of talk about getting rid of many federal regulations for a number of industries. Some are calling for discontinuing or limiting agencies such as FDA, EPA, and TSA.

In my view, the government is OBLIGATED to use it's legislative and regulatory powers to protect the well being of it's citizens and property. I, personally, do not view corporations (of any kind) as a citizen. Corporations are business which are conceived, built, and run by people - but the corporation is a business. They do not require protection from us, the citizens. We are the labor, AND stock holders, AND often the consumer of the goods or services that the businesses create. You cannot ask a business it's opinion of the current economy any more than you can ask an ATM in a convenience store the question. You can only ask the person or people who own and run them.

For this reason, I believe it should be illegal for manufacturers to discontinue production of generic drugs without discussion with the appropriate governmental body/agency about the risk/benefit analysis for the citizens as well as those for the company.

There are too many old, effective, and now generic medications which are critical for the health and well being of the population to allow corporate interests to have the only say in these decisions. It is not the business' JOB to take care of the American people, the work of the business is to generate profit. The work of the federal government is to take care of itself - and, of course, our federal government should be "we the people of these United States".

eagle78, thanks for the words of encouragement! God indeed strengthens me everyday. My current devotional, many times, feels as though it has been written specifically for me in this specific time... God is so cool, like that.

schlemJM

9 Posts

We are experiecing the same thing. In my practice the nurses are responsable for all drug ordering so we deal with the distributor directly. It seems to change order to order, for at least 10 months we could not get Leucovorin then it became available again, now I can't get it . Etoposide had trouble getting that for a while, today it was available. Could not get Cisplat today and for the first time Navelbine. It becomes an obstacle when trying to treat the patient with the appropriate treatment plan. Many phone calls to formulate when and where we can get the drug. We haven't used Doxil for quite a while as it is not available, there is some type of way to try to get the drug for a pt. but I guess it is very time consuming and not a fast enough process for a patient that needs treatment.

oncnurse12

1 Post

At the clinic where I work, we've had a shortage of Doxil, Adriamycin, Mannitol, and IV Ativan. The pharmacy finally had IV Ativan today. We are substituting Adriamycin with Mitoxantrone and Mannitol with Lasix. Most of our pts have been understanding because we've explained it's a national shortage. If you go to the FDA website there's a link listing all the drug shortages, it's not only oncology meds & it's a LONG list. It's a scary situation.

MomBabyUnitRN

59 Posts

Specializes in correctional, med/surg, postpartum, L&D,.

I noticed this problem when I was finished with my FOLFOX. Leucovorin was the first one to disappear from my onc's shelf and then the 5FU was the second one to disappear. Pretty scary for those who are still undergoing chemo. I believe it's all about money. Maybe I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but there is something going on that's causing these shortages.

Specializes in Pediatric Hem/Onc.

We've had issues with leucovorin lately. I've noticed that it's being ordered PO routinely. Normally I wouldn't have a problem, but waking up a 6 year old at 0300 to take a pill is rather unpleasant. Our docs are frustrated with it and can usually be counted on to order a PRN IV specifically for the middle of the night doses. I'm assuming in the adult world patients don't get that luxury :(

Thankfully, I've never had to tell a family "sorry, your kid can't get chemo because we don't have any" but that list scares me!

+ Add a Comment