Sacramento Kaiser patient’s cancer treatment delayed amid medication shortage

Nationwide cancer medication shortage leaves Sacramento Kaiser patient hung out to dry

‘Make it better. Do what you have to do. We can’t let people die because of surface-level issues,’ cancer patient’s wife says

Updated: 6:44 PM PDT May 25, 2023

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HOW IT’S AFFECTING PATIENTS. IN THE SAME YEAR HE TURNED 50 YEARS OLD. MICHAEL GRIFFITH STARTED HAVING PAIN. I WENT INTO THE DOCTOR AND ABOUT SIX HOURS LATER, AFTER A NUMBER OF TESTS, THEY THEY LET ME KNOW THAT IT WAS A STAGE FOUR. COLANGELO CARCINOMA, AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF BILE DUCT CANCER IN HIS LIVER WITH TUMORS THROUGHOUT HIS BODY. THEY IMMEDIATELY BEGAN CHEMOTHERAPY AND THE TUMORS STARTED TO SHRINK. SO WE’VE BEEN ON THIS GREAT PATH WITH THE IMMUNOTHERAPY AND THE TWO OTHER DRUGS, THE GEMCITABINE AND THE CISPLATIN. BUT THIS SPRING, THAT TREATMENT CHANGED. THEY SAID, HEY, BY THE WAY, DON’T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, BUT THERE’S A SHORTAGE ON CISPLATIN, SO YOU’RE ONLY GETTING GEMCITABINE TODAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I YOU KNOW, I THINK I’M DOING PRETTY GOOD. SO THAT’S FINE. AND I DON’T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER IT. SO LET’S DO THIS. BUT THIS HAPPENED OVER AND OVER. AND AFTER A TRIP TO THE E.R. THIS MONTH, THEY FOUND HIS CANCER IS ONCE AGAIN GROWING. THE ONLY THING THAT’S CHANGED, THE LACK OF CISPLATIN. YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THIS AS A BREAK, YOU KNOW, LIKE, OKAY, I CAN TAKE A BREAK FROM THIS DRUG, BUT THEY’RE NOT BEING TOLD WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IF THEY DO TAKE A BREAK AND THEY’RE JUST BEING TOLD LIKE THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO. SO THIS JUST IS WHAT IT IS. AND NOBODY’S ASKING QUESTIONS. WHY IS IT THAT THIS IS HAPPENING? THE FDA HAS CISPLATIN ALONG WITH FIVE OF ITS MANUFACTURERS, LISTED AS A DRUG IN CURRENT SHORTAGE WITH REASONS FROM BACK ORDERING TO LIMITED SUPPLY AND DEMAND INCREASE. MICHAEL IS GETTING TREATMENT LOCALLY WITH KAISER PERMANENTE, WHO TOLD US THEY, ALONG WITH OTHER PROVIDERS, ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE. THIS SHORTAGE IS IMPACTING ALL PHARMACIES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE SHORTAGE IS A RESULT OF NUMEROUS FACTORS, INCLUDING THE CLOSURE OF A MAJOR MANUFACTURING PLANT DUE TO OPERATIONAL ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE FDA. KAISER PERMANENTE GOING ON TO SAY AT THIS TIME THERE IS NO DEFINITIVE INFORMATION ON WHEN SUPPLY OF CISPLATIN WILL RETURN TO PRE SHORTAGE LEVELS WITH SOMETHING THAT IS IN SUCH DEMAND AND CONSCIOUS. ONLY IF YOU DEVELOP A DRUG LIKE THAT, WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE OF IT KNOWING THAT YOU’RE DOING ALL THIS GOOD, GIVEN NO MEDICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE DRUGS CISPLATIN AT THIS TIME? MICHAEL AND HIS FIANCE NIKKI NOW FIGHT TO UNDERSTAND WHY THIS SHOULDN’T BE HAPPENING. THIS CAN BE STOPPED. CANCER IS TREATABLE IN SOME CASES IT’S CURABLE. AND WITHOUT THESE DRUGS, THERE’S NOTHING ANYBODY CAN DO ABOUT IT. AND SO WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OURSELVES, FOR OTHER PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO MAKE THIS MORE WIDELY KNOWN AND GET CHANGE TO BE MADE AND GET IT DONE FAST. BECAUSE TIME IS NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE IN SACRAMENTO. ERIN HEFT KCRA. THREE NEWS. IN A STATEMENT TO KCRA THREE, KAISER PERMANENTE SAID IN PART, WE RECOGNIZE ANY TIME THERE WAS A NATIONAL SHORTAGE OF MEDICATION LIKE CISPLATIN, THAT PATIENTS WHO ARE AFFECTED MAY FEEL ANXIOUS. WE WANT EVERY PATIENT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND AND BE COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR TREATMENT PLAN. OUR PHYSICIANS AND PHARMACISTS ARE WORKING WITH THEIR PATIENTS TO ENSURE THEIR TREATMENT PLAN IS AS EFFECTIVE

Nationwide cancer medication shortage leaves Sacramento Kaiser patient hung out to dry

‘Make it better. Do what you have to do. We can’t let people die because of surface-level issues,’ cancer patient’s wife says

Updated: 6:44 PM PDT May 25, 2023

Delays in cancer treatments due to a nationwide medication shortage are causing anxiety among patients and their families.Hundreds of medications are listed in short supply by the Food and Drug Administration, including Cisplatin — a platinum-based infusion cancer treatment — its shortage is now delaying lifesaving infusions.Michael Griffith is one of the thousands now facing delays in life-sustaining cancer treatments due to medication shortages. He is diagnosed with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of bile duct cancer.Griffith explained he was receiving infusions with a combination of three medications but was recently told Cisplatin was no longer available, and now his cancer has grown.“The tumors at the moment are what they would refer to as locked down, kind of stabilized, and controllable, but I think we’ve lost that momentum due to the current situation,” Griffith said.Nikki Smith, Griffith’s fiancée, made it clear that this shortage needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.“Make it better. Do what you have to do. We can’t let people die because of surface-level issues. It’s just not fair,” Smith said.Kaiser Permanente, Griffith’s treatment provider, told KCRA 3 in a statement:“Kaiser Permanente and other providers are currently experiencing a nationwide shortage of Cisplatin, an oncologic agent used in the treatment of a variety of cancers.This shortage is impacting all pharmacies in the United States. The shortage is a result of numerous factors, including the closure of a major manufacturing plant due to operational issues identified by the FDA and commitments other manufactures have already made for distribution of the current limited supply.At this time, there is no definitive information on when supply of Cisplatin will return to pre-shortage levels.”At the present time, the FDA lists Cisplatin as back-ordered, no stock and limited supply.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Delays in cancer treatments due to a nationwide medication shortage are causing anxiety among patients and their families.

Hundreds of medications are listed in short supply by the Food and Drug Administration, including Cisplatin — a platinum-based infusion cancer treatment — its shortage is now delaying lifesaving infusions.

Michael Griffith is one of the thousands now facing delays in life-sustaining cancer treatments due to medication shortages. He is diagnosed with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of bile duct cancer.

Griffith explained he was receiving infusions with a combination of three medications but was recently told Cisplatin was no longer available, and now his cancer has grown.

“The tumors at the moment are what they would refer to as locked down, kind of stabilized, and controllable, but I think we’ve lost that momentum due to the current situation,” Griffith said.

Nikki Smith, Griffith’s fiancée, made it clear that this shortage needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

“Make it better. Do what you have to do. We can’t let people die because of surface-level issues. It’s just not fair,” Smith said.

Kaiser Permanente, Griffith’s treatment provider, told KCRA 3 in a statement:

“Kaiser Permanente and other providers are currently experiencing a nationwide shortage of Cisplatin, an oncologic agent used in the treatment of a variety of cancers.This shortage is impacting all pharmacies in the United States. The shortage is a result of numerous factors, including the closure of a major manufacturing plant due to operational issues identified by the FDA and commitments other manufactures have already made for distribution of the current limited supply.At this time, there is no definitive information on when supply of Cisplatin will return to pre-shortage levels.”

At the present time, the FDA lists Cisplatin as back-ordered, no stock and limited supply.

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