My mum was diagnosed with melanoma on scalp, stage 4 in October 2011. A simple mole she had for years became black and ulcerated. IT was immediately removed, but without safety margins:(. After a single month, the cancer came back, with new primary and a few black dots near. She had another surgery in 2 months, carried out by another doctor, who was amazed to find that in this world in 2013, melanoma was removed initially without safety margins. She had it removed and a skin graft from her leg was put on her scalp. She received Interferon, for one year. Simultaneously she's been through chemo, DACARBAZINE only, because she is also diabetic. This year, almost one year after diagnosis she started to feel pain in her chest. She thought is just smth that will go away. A PET Scan carried out one month prior to her new chest pain revealed NOTHING. So she went to another clinic to find out she had lots of metastasis in her chest area :(.
She continued chemo, but with no results at all. For 3 months she mainly laid on bed, sometimes she cried being in pain.
I asked her to do the BRAF test, and she is positive.
Now I bought her Vemurafenib, which is soooo expensive. In only 4 days of treatment the lymph node near her ear decresead. She started to walk again, she started to cook, she takes short walks, she says the pain reduced (in only 10 days). SOmetimes I think: can that be possible?
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE IS A PLACE ON THIS EARTH WHERE I CAN GET THIS VEMURAFENIB(ZELBORAF) REDUCED OR FOR FREE?
ROCHE OFFFERS A DISCOUNT, BUT EVEN SO, IS STILL TO EXPENSIVE FOR ME 🙁
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