Al's Comment:

 

Stories like this ignite my frustration. The video highlights a young Australian girl battling DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) who has shown remarkable progress. Her treatment involves a combination of drugs, including ONC-201, for which her family has incurred expenses exceeding $100,000. Fortunately, the Australian government has decided to cover the costs moving forward. The demand for this drug is global, as it has demonstrated potential to significantly extend survival rates and, in some cases, produce miraculous outcomes in a condition where such results are exceedingly rare. The family is also experimenting with other drugs, although specifics are not disclosed.

 

In the United States, access to such treatment combinations outside of clinical trials, which include a placebo group, is virtually non-existent. The urgency for ONC-201's approval cannot be overstated. This underscores my dedication to advocating for the Promising Pathway Act. Passage of this act would not only facilitate access to drugs like ONC-201 but also establish a learning system to expedite the evaluation of drug combinations and optimize their application. Meanwhile, the grim reality is that DIPG claims the life of approximately one child almost  every day in the USA.

Australian government steps in to fund experimental brain cancer drug