Jerry’s Journey

On June 21 and 22 I (David Ahrens) will be participating in the first ever “Ride to Conquer Cancer” to support research at the Princess Margaret Hospital.  This ride is dedicated to and in memory of my Father who passed away last November.

This 200km journey over two days from Toronto to Niagara Falls is an important step to building awareness, doing the right thing, and healing the wounds of our family’s loss.

Please support this worth cause at www.conquercancer.ca.

We experienced a devastating loss yesterday morning at 4:30am, Jerry (Dad) passed away. We will miss him deeply and sadly, but he will never, ever be forgotten. Love you Dad.

AHRENS, Jerry John - Passed away peacefully after a brave and courageous battle with Cancer at the Ross Memorial Hospital, Lindsay on November 25th, 2007 at the age of 73. Jerry was the beloved husband of Rochelle Ahrens, of 42 years. Loving father of Shelley Travis (David) of Port Perry, David Ahrens of Jackson’s Point, and Heather Ahrens (Carman Guthrie) of Fenelon Falls. Cherished grandfather of Matthew Ahrens. Survived by his sisters Gerda (Ruud), and Anna-Wies of Holland, Johanna Clara of Italy, and brother Jan George (Ans) of Holland. Predeceased by his parents Jan George Sr. (1996) and Wies (2000). Jerry is also survived by his sisters-in-law Bev and Joan of Sudbury, Harriet of Montreal, and brothers-in-law Harry of Sudbury and the late Jimmy Haddow. Jerry will be sadly missed by all his relatives and friends. Visitation will be held at the Mackey Funeral Home, 33 Peel St., Lindsay, on Tuesday from 7-9 pm. Funeral service will be held in the chapel on Wednesday November 28th at 4 pm. Following cremation a private family interment will take place at Riverside Cemetery. Memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family (to donate, click on the link on the left hand navigation bar). Thank you to the Triathlon Group associated with son David as you all made a difficult time much easier.

The long time battle that Jerry has had with the Province for access to Avastin has finally been resolved!!! Wrong.

Premier McGuinty has sent a disappointing response and it now is evident that he is not familiar with his own government’s process and has not bothered to do any due diligence around this topic, not to mention the fact that his recommended course of action has already been a road that Jerry has “journied” down for the past year.

There is still obviously more work to be done here…the content of the letter from the Premier’s office follows:

“Premier Dalton McGuinty, has forwarded your e-mail regarding coverage of the anti-cancer drug Avastin to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Currently, all new cancer drugs, approved for use by Health Canada and submitted for funding consideration in Ontario are reviewed by the ministry’s expert advisers, the Committee to Evaluate Drugs (CED), which works with experts from Cancer Care Ontario (CCO).

These experts consider a drug’s clinical value, cost-effectiveness and impact on health services as compared to existing treatments, and make a recommendation to the Executive Officer (EO). The EO then makes the final decision concering funding. This collaborative evaluation process ensures that decisions are made with input from cancer treatment experts.

The CED has reviewed Avastin for its use in metastatic colorectal cancer and has advised that the information provided does not meet the standards of scientific evidence and cost-effectiveness required to supoprt a funding recommendation. As a result, we are not funding Avastin at this time.

I understand that you and many others hoped for a positive funding recommendation for Avastin. I assure you that the ministry will review, as quickly as possible, any new information from the drug manufacturer that may have an impact on this funding decision.

Thank you for taking the time to write about this important matter.

Sincerely,

Helen Stevenson, Assistant Deputy Minister and Executive Officer

c: The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier”

This week I received a copy of a letter that my MPP (Julia Munro - York-Simcoe) sent to George Smitherman addressing the need for Avastin in Ontario. (Peter Van Loan, MP, was also cc’d).

Julia Munro’s responsiveness and action is commendable, so hopefully, Mr. Smitherman responds in an equally as timely fashion. To date, all other communications directly to Mr. Smitherman have essentially gone unanswered.

Julia’s letter reads: “Dear Mr. Smitherman: This letter is on behalf of one of my constituents who wishes to know why the Ministry of Health will not provide Avastin treatment for cancer patients. A copy of his letter is enclosed. I would appreciate it if you would review my constituent’s letter and inform him why this treatment is not provided and if you have any plans to change your policy. Please respond directly to my constituent with a copy to my riding office. Sincerely, Julia Munro, MPP, York North)”

Just wanted to share this communication and of course encourage you all to simply email or call your MPs and MPPs to take action.

Many thanks!

Quote by author Walter Anderson:

“I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.”

This Petition is for any and all to sign who want to support our mission or have been touched by cancer in one way or another; and especially for those who have not had fair or adequate access to the cancer treatments they require to survive or simply live longer and have a better quality of life.

The issue of access to effective cancer drugs and treatments continues to pain our Province (Ontario) and Canada. After almost a year of lobbying various government bodies to allow for Avastin treatment, my father’s Oncologist said last week (October 3rd), that it’s now too late for the Avastin treatment and in fact took him off chemotherapy.

Ironically, in an almost parallel stream, Cancer Care Ontario sent a letter allowing funding for Erbitux to be administered in Buffalo (an alternative treatment that was never identified by my Father’s oncologist as a possible treatment). Seemingly, their one-year turnaround process for this approval, may not only have a negative medical impact for my father, but has unnecessarily created an ineffective and costly proposition for the Province. This is pure negligence by the Province.

How can patients ever really have the hope and chance to live? Instead, they must fight for their lives on paper…a ridiculous process for people who simply don’t have time on their side.

As a side note, a friend of mine is involved in an Avastin clinical trial in Canada and has seen more than 60% tumour shrinkage. He was diagnosed with the same Cancer as my Father, at the same time. It’s time to effect change.

George Smitherman and Dalton McGuinty must be educated, informed and pressed to make changes. They have ignored repeated requests thus far, so it’s time to send a message “en mass”. The results of this petition will be forwarded to each of these politicians.

Thank you for your support.

Sign the petition