Perjeta access as second line treatment for HER2+ MBC - suggestions please
I was diagnosed with MBC in Nov 2011 (first diagnosis: mets to liver, bones, lung & brain), and have been feeling very well for years on Herceptin. However, this month, there has been new growth in the breast & supraclavicular lymph nodes - so there is some cancer that has become resistant to Herceptin. I would like to begin Perjeta (pertuzumab), but this is currently only financed on the PBS as a first line treatment. I'm ineligible as I've already had a HER2 targeted therapy... even though Perjeta wasn't available back when I was diagnosed (insert frustrated eye roll)!!! Has anyone in a similar situation had success in getting subsidised access to Perjeta and would like to share how please? (To pay privately, I'd need to pay $6269 for the first dose, then $3197 every three weeks after that, which is not sustainable.) Appreciate any suggestions or stories of successful access for those of us with HER2+ MBC diagnosis prior to Perjeta coming on the market.