COLLECTION FOR:

non-reimbursed drug

UPDATES:

Updated on February 28, 2024

The pills are working, the cancer is in remission, the hair is growing back nicely... it's been half a year of taking the pills. Happiness lasted too long? I have to fight the system again to live...

The head of the oncology ward changed and introduced many changes. Patients taking Olaparib tablets as part of the RDTL (emergency access to drug technologies) became a thorn in their side. I understood that she believed that I was not entitled to this medicine, even though I had a mutation in my genes, and she suggested that the previous head of medicine did not know what he was signing. Moreover, she said that the drug had too many side effects and would not prolong my life. It's better if I don't take it.

Two other professors I consulted disagree with this opinion. They find this medicine very helpful in their treatment. Unfortunately, I cannot transfer to another hospital. The only thing I can do is pay the price for the drug 100% and wait until it is available for reimbursement in standard treatment for people like me - after its resumption.

The cost of one dose is approximately PLN 26,000. And there are still 14 of them left...

Therefore, I am once again asking you with all my heart for help in this unequal fight.

Updated on 31/01/2024 

An HRD test performed privately confirmed the genetic mutation. Thanks to this, Agnieszka managed to qualify for the emergency access drug program (RDTL), thanks to which she currently has reimbursed treatment with the PARP inhibitor - olaparib. The disease has been stabilizing for half a year, although the drugs destroy the bone marrow and blood.

After stabilizing her blood results, she will undergo consultations with doctors regarding surgery to remove the tumors. Currently, the basic costs are rehabilitation, dietary supplements and commuting.

DREAM:

12 years ago, after losing a child, it turned out that I had bad cytological results. Highly oncogenic cells were detected. I underwent 3 surgeries. Later, I regularly went to the gynecologist every 9-12 months. Unfortunately, COVID meant that access to my gynecologist was limited. I decided to go to the doctor in...
my city. There were 2 doctors in the hospital. I wanted to go to a gynecologist coming from a clinical hospital in Poznań. I heard that you only accept pregnant women. The rest had to settle for an 80-year-old district doctor. I went. While receiving the cytology result, I heard from the nurse,
that I should frame this result because I had a "1" cytology result. I was surprised, because I had had "triples" for years and a more thorough examination had always been necessary. Today I know that such a result means a poorly performed cytological test.

The following year, i.e. in August 2021, the situation repeated itself - cytology was one, and the doctor did not find anything disturbing during the examination. I was concerned - could it be a miraculous healing? I decided to go privately to a gynecologist who works in Poznań. In the meantime, I was looking for the cause of elevated liver parameters and liver pain. On October 5, 2021, I went for an abdominal ultrasound at a hospital in my city. I found an equally old doctor. Diagnosis: everything is fine, healthy as a fish.

A week later, I was joking at my gynecologist appointment about my miraculous healing. While doing the ultrasound, the doctor suddenly became silent and turned blue... I turned my head towards the screen and saw huge tumors on the ovary! I was referred to an oncology clinic. I thought: maybe it's benign, maybe cysts,
maybe the second ovary and uterus will be saved...

A computed tomography scan showed the penultimate stage of cancer - dozens of tumors spread throughout the abdominal cavity. The largest metastasis was on the uterus - 5x7 cm, on the liver 4x3 cm and 10 others of the same size scattered throughout the abdomen. There were also infiltrates in the large intestine (I was at risk of having a stoma).
on my bladder (I was at risk of having a urostomy). I can't believe the doctors didn't notice the tumors... half of my life was stolen...

In November, I underwent surgery, during which unfortunately it was not possible to remove all the tumors. Doctors cut an artery while trying to remove a tumor in his liver. They had a problem with sewing it up, I got blood, my parameters were dropping... That's why the surgery was ended. My life was saved. Everything possible was removed from my stomach: ovaries, uterus, appendix, greater omentum. I managed to avoid having a stoma.
Then surgical menopause began…

Diagnosis: high-grade serous ovarian cancer advanced stage

I was devastated - not only was this type of cancer at such a young age, but it was also very malignant and in an advanced stage... I was trying not to get cervical cancer, but ovarian cancer developed under the doctors' noses. I received 6 double infusions of chemotherapy and 13 infusions of maintenance medication. However, just three months after finishing chemotherapy, the marker began to increase until it exceeded the norm. The CT scan showed a lesion between the liver and the diaphragm. I was devastated…

I wanted to undergo surgery in Białystok. The doctor asked for an additional PET scan (cost PLN 6,900). When I read the description, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The examination showed the spread of the cancer almost throughout the body, including the lymph nodes. I can't understand it... If the tumors had been detected sooner, the disease would not have been so advanced. It's hard for me to come to terms with this. I am undergoing another cycle of chemotherapy. I get two types of chemo. Unfortunately, I became allergic to one of them. Doctors have to give me desensitizing drugs so that I can take chemotherapy.

To make matters worse, I was bitten by a tick nymph and Lyme disease has become one of the diseases I fight against. I'm not going to give up. After finishing chemotherapy, I would like to receive an anticancer drug - an inhibitor
PARP. Unfortunately, the National Health Fund reimburses this drug only to people after the first line of treatment, and not after the second. The annual cost is PLN 400,000! This amount is beyond my capabilities. In addition, there are the costs of rehabilitation and supplementation - up to PLN 4,000-7,000 per month. I am on a modest pension.

I want to do an HRD test (homologous recombination gene disorder test). This test is needed for the latest treatment of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, the National Health Fund reimburses this test only for beginner patients. The cost of such a test is PLN 8-12 thousand. I found a center that will do this test for PLN 8,000. If I want to be treated with the most modern therapy available in our country, I have to pay for these drugs and tests myself.

I know that I want to live, I have someone to live for and I want it with all my strength. I don't have children, but I have relatives whom I love very much. They suspect colon cancer in my father. He is undergoing tests, we are waiting for histopathological results. I can't imagine another person in my family suffering from cancer. This would be too much. I have a long and very difficult road ahead of me. After 2 years, my savings have run out and I need funds for non-reimbursed tests and medications. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to cover all the costs myself, so the fundraiser and your support are my last hope.

I want to thank everyone for their help and repay the good that has happened to me from you. I would like to continue helping as a volunteer. But for this to happen, I must have a chance at life...
Please help me fight for my life.
Aga

You can also support Agnieszka by bank transfer:

Foundation account number: 52 1050 1025 1000 0090 3010 4252

Deposits in foreign currencies

USD: PL54 1050 1025 1000 0090 8058 1367

EUR: PL32 1050 1025 1000 0090 8058 1375

GBP: PL76 1050 1025 1000 0090 8058 1359

SWIFT code: INGBPLPW

Transfer title: Agnieszka Rusiak

Recipient's details: Rakiety Oncological Foundation, al. Rzeczypospolitej 2/U-2, Warsaw

1,5%

KRS: 0000414091

Specific goal: Agnieszka Rusiak