Nev Black Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 It can be more beneficial to write a letter in your words. You may wish to draft your own letter, so that you can describe your support for Xofigo in your own words. Below are some questions to consider and possible topics of inclusion that you might like to use in your letter. 1. What medications are you, or a friend or relative, currently taking for advanced prostate cancer? How well do these medications work for you? Do you experience any side effects? 2. What do you see as the benefits of Xofigo for you, or a friend or relative? How will your family benefit from you receiving Xofigo? 3. Do you currently suffer from bone pain due to metastasis? How does this affect your daily life and wellbeing? Have you tried other medicines for bone pain, and how effective were they? 4. Benefits of Xofigo Xofigo has prolonged overall survival in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, with a 30% reduction in the risk of death, compared with placebo. It also showed fewer adverse effects than those given placebo, along with best standard of care. The highly targeted nature of Xofigo means it travels through the body specifically to cancer sites in the bone, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy bone cells. Bone pain can be a continuous and debilitating side effect to those who have castration-resistant prostate cancer. Clinical studies have shown that Xofigo can improve quality of life in patients suffering from bone metastasis. Xofigo lengthens life and provides an improved quality of life. Xofigo is already FDA approved and available for use in the USA Currently there are approximately 22,000 men in Australia living with advanced prostate cancer, and they could all potentially benefit from access to this treatment. 5. What benefits can you see from having this medicine approved by the MSAC? By making this drug available to all under the MBS, it can be accessed equally by all Australians, improving length and quality of life. Increased quality of life allows men and their families more time together, and time to make decisions on palliative care. 6. You may wish to also add to your letter: Express your appreciation for being given the opportunity to comment Ask whether you will be informed as the decision of the MSAC to approve Xofigio Key Contacts Professor Robyn Ward, Chair, Medical Services Advisory Committee, (MSAC), Commonwealth of Australia Mailing address: Australian Government Department of Health MDP 851 GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601 Email address: hta@health.gov.au Phone: 02 6289 7550 Your electorate’s Member of Parliament (MP) You can contact your local MP to advocate for Xofigo. To find the contact details for your local MP, please visit the Parliament of Australia’s website, http://australia.gov.au/directories/contact-parliament Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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