Flo Burke of Cumming was just a few sessions away from completing treatments for breast cancer when a change in medication sent her to the emergency room.
The problem was caused by a shortage of Taxol, a drug used in her treatment. Burke, a patient at Georgia Cancer Specialists, had a severe allergic reaction after she was given an alternative drug.
"I really felt like I was dying," said Burke, an office manager.
Burke is lucky. Enough Taxol has been found to continue her treatments.
But that doesn't alleviate the fears of other doctors and patients. The Food and Drug Administration, which has monitored the situation for six years, recently reported 2010 was a record year for drug shortages and the situation could get worse.
"We are continuing to see these increased numbers for shortages, especially for older sterile injectable drugs," said Valerie Jensen, director of the FDA Drug Shortages Program. "These drugs are mainly used in hospitals and include cancer drugs, drugs needed for patients undergoing surgery and emergency drugs."
The reasons for the shortages vary. Some drug manufacturers are discontinuing older drugs and replacing them with newer ones, which are usually more profitable, according to the FDA. They are also recalling some drugs because of quality problems.
Dr. Bancroft Lesesne, chief executive officer and president of Georgia Cancer Specialists, said the drugs affected are most commonly used in breast, lung, lymphoma and colon cancer treatments. "There's a standard treatment we might recommend to a patient based on the disease and the stage," he said. "If the drugs aren't available we have to make substitutions. We think they're just as effective but you can never be quite sure."
"I don't see [the shortages] getting any better," he said. "One drug will become available and then there's a shortage of another. It's seems to be a moving target."
That affects patients like Marie Latta, a disability consultant who lives in Sandy Springs.
Latta, who has colon cancer, didn't receive her last treatment because there was a shortage of one of the drugs she takes. Latta said she is worried about possible side effects of a substitute. Fortunately, she said, she's nearing the end of her treatments.
"It's probably more of an inconvenience than anything," said Dr. Michael Hoffman, a surgeon with North Atlanta Surgical Associates. "There are alternative drugs you can use."
Those drugs, however, may be more expensive, require more than one dosage a week or require the addition of another antibiotic.
The drug shortage also is a concern at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, which sponsors a number of clinical trials around the country.
Director Walter J. Curran Jr. said a few centers are using medications that are now in short supply. For patients, it means either using alternative drugs or not getting a treatment.
"It's emotionally difficult" for patients, he said. "It's a real problem -- not only for patients, but also for advancing cancer research. From our vantage point this is the most serious situation we've seen."
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