A B.C. woman fighting cancer says she has been denied an extension of an immunotherapy drug because it has only been allowed for a two-year period.
Soledad Ronco struggled through chemotherapy while also receiving the immunotherapy drug Keytruda to keep the triple-negative breast cancer at bay.
She was first diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2022 and was given 20 months to live.
“It feels like immunotherapy is proactive,” Ronco said. “If it comes back they will fund more. Please don’t point me back.”
She will be eligible for Keytruda again but only if the cancer returns.
The BC Cancer Agency said patients have seen success with Keytruda but success after two years is still unclear as the drug was only trialed for that time period.
“What we know from the studies with some patients for up to two years,” Dr. Helen Anderson with the BC Cancer Agency said.
“What we don’t know is what happens when you end the treatments.”
Ronco said she would consider paying out of pocket if she can’t get Keytruda but it does cost $10,000 every six weeks.
Her friends told her to set up a GoFundMe but she is reluctant to do so.
“I am pretty vulnerable to ask the general public to fund my life, so I haven’t done it yet,” she said.
But if it means that the single mom can get more time with her two kids, she is considering it.
On Thursday evening, Ronco’s friends set up a GoFundMe to help her.