Cancer patient raises funds for treatment excluded by diagnosis subtype

A Latvian woman with recurrent breast cancer is raising money for a medicine recommended by her doctors but unavailable to her under state reimbursement rules because of her specific diagnosis subtype, LSM reports.

Agnese Lielā-Kārkliņa, a mother of two, is collecting donations through the charity Ziedot.lv. The medicine is on the state’s list of reimbursed drugs, but her cancer subtype is not covered. The article says state funding is likely insufficient to treat every subtype. Agnese is also seeking to draw attention to what she sees as an injustice: a small distinction in a diagnosis can prevent a patient from receiving the most effective medicine.

Rūta Dimanta, head of Ziedot.lv, described the situation as a “vicious circle” and said untreated people cost the state more. Agnese has appealed the National Health Service’s decision to the Health Ministry. The ministry said the service had acted within the rules.

Agnese was first diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2015. Although the disease was at stage one, she underwent extensive surgery to reduce the risk of its return. The tumour was aggressive and had spread, but tests at the time did not find gene mutations that promote tumours. She received hormonal and endocrine treatment and regular check-ups for five years, after which she was considered cured.

In 2022, she woke one night with severe chest pain and noticed horn-shaped growths on her chest. After several medical appointments and tests, doctors found that the cancer had returned and spread to her bones.

“The pain is incomparable to anything else: bone pain is some kind of hell on earth. Nothing helps at all; no painkillers help, not even five or six Ibumetin tablets,” Agnese said.

Her oncologist referred her for new genetic testing, as testing options had expanded in the intervening years. The results found a very rare gene mutation.

Tags: cancer, healthcare, Latvia