Posted by Michael Wonder on 13 Aug 2018
Melbourne man spends $80,000 on the miracle cancer drug that saved his life
13 August 2018 - Diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in 2017, John Burke should, in his words, be “gone for all money” but he’s alive and cancer free thanks to a miracle response to the drug Keytruda.
But staying alive has cost the 72-year-old Melbourne University history lecturer $80,000 so far because the treatment that saved his life is not covered by the nation’s drug subsidy scheme.
Every three weeks he has to find another $825 for his treatment - which he does by spending all his superannuation on the drug while living off his wife’s retirement income.
