I am sponsoring this for a friend and colleague, John Nash, who has been battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer for almost 2 ½ years. He has been on one form or another of chemotherapy since the diagnosis. He recently had genetic profiling done that determined he has two mutant cells that caused his cancer.

His doctor prescribed Lynparza, which is an oral chemotherapy drug that is designed to target those cells. However, his insurance has denied three attempts by his doctor to have the prescription approved. His doctor then attempted to prescribe Rubraca, another oral chemotherapy drug, which was also denied by his insurance.

John turned to the makers of the drugs (AstraZeneca and Pharma&) for financial assistance, but they denied the claims because his insurance wasn’t covering part of it. He also reached out to several foundations that provide financial assistance but was also denied because either his insurance wasn’t covering part of it, or his income was too much above what is considered to be the poverty level.

Either the Lynparza or the Rubraca will cost him around $9,000 per month, out-of-pocket, unless he can find some financial assistance. How long he would have to be on the drug would depend on the results of continued CT and MRI scans. Any assistance that you could provide would be immensely appreciated.