Pat Crowley, former CEO of EssenceMediacom has called on adland to get behind a petition to add cancer drug Belzutifan to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, in the hopes it could save his son’s life.
Last year, Crowley had a spate of terrible luck. In September, his 17-year-old son Fletcher suffered a severe spinal cord injury from a mountain bike accident in September. His son Levi was diagnosed with Von Hippel Lindau (VHL) — a rare generic cancer.
Since being diagnosed in 2020, doctors have discovered multiple tumours in Levi’s brain, spine, retinas, kidneys and pancreas. He has lost sight in one of his eyes and survived brain surgery in 2021, Crowley posted on LinkedIn.
Belzutifan reduces VHL tumour growth and is now available to the public. But it costs $12,000 per month and is a medication that the sufferer needs to take for life.
However, there is some hope. Belzutifan has gone up for consideration on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme which would see its price reduced to $7 per month.
“VHL sufferers cannot wait for the government to deliberate on this while their tumours continue to grow. For some, another surgery isn’t an option. They are running out of time,” Crowley posted on LinkedIn.
