“Every day matters”: What it means to have a rare disease

by Feb 28, 2021

Patients with rare disease often do not have a voice and rely on strong support from family, carers and trusted advocates. On Rare Disease Day 2021, FT3 speaks to advocates for those with a rare disease, who outline the barriers and roadblocks to obtaining a prompt diagnosis and the best possible personalized treatment.

Warnyta Minnaard is the co-founder of Missie Tumor Onbekend, the patient support and advocacy organization for patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) in the Netherlands. 

Cancer of unknown primary is the fourth most common metastatic cancer in the Netherlands, with about 1,400 Dutch people each year diagnosed with CUP. Missie Tumor Onbekend advocates for a specialized diagnostic and care pathway for CUP patients, better access to innovative diagnostics and (curative/palliative) care. Furthermore, we provide support to patients, share information about CUP, raise awareness and support clinical research to try to find a solution for CUP.

About 2.5 years ago my partner Hederik (age 32) suddenly became ill. It all started with a hanging eyelid and we started with a journey in the hospital to try to find out what was wrong. Unfortunately, he passed away in early January 2019 and I became a widow at age 29. Even though he was severely ill, we had no idea he was going to die as we were in the midst of an ongoing diagnostic trajectory that already took seven months. This is more often the case with a CUP diagnosis; you don’t understand that it is a diagnosis to have cancer without knowing the origins. 

Patients with CUP are an outlier in the oncology community, as they are metastatic cancer patients but the origin of their disease is unknown and therefore unfortunately their chances towards accessing treatments is still rather limited. You would expect an outlier to be uncommon, but CUP is the eighth most common cancer in the world; because this is such a diverse group of patients, it is challenging to provide a single solution. But it is clear, these patients deserve solutions; it is unbearable to be part of a patient group without evening knowing you are part of the group as your diagnosis is cancer of unknown primary and if nothing is done you will not survive. Furthermore, most cancer therapies are based on the origin of the disease, which is exactly unknown for CUP patients. More than half of CUP patients in the Netherlands pass away in less than two months, so urgency is needed.

I believe the focus should be on improving or changing diagnostics so that there is no longer a strict need to know the localization of the tumor, rather the DNA defects of the tumor cells of the metastases found in the body should become clear. So that treatment can be provided on the basis of molecular patterns and patients get an outlook and a chance towards care instead of staying in a diagnostic trajectory with no end. The developments of personalized diagnostics and treatments are exactly what CUP patients are in dire need of.

Susi Vander Wyk is executive director of Cure SMA Canada

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disease. The motor neurons affect the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. It is a relatively common “rare disorder”; approximately one in 6,000 babies born are affected, and about 1 in 40 people are genetic carriers.

SMA affects muscles throughout the body, although the proximal muscles (those closest to the trunk of one’s body – i.e. shoulders, hips, and back) are often most severely affected. Weakness in the legs is generally greater than in the arms. Sometimes feeding and swallowing can be affected. Involvement of respiratory muscles (muscles involved in breathing and coughing) can lead to an increased tendency for pneumonia and other lung problems.

Until very recently, there have been no treatments available for SMA patients. At diagnoses, they were simply told to take their children home and love them for as long as they had them.  We at Cure SMA Canada offered support for newly diagnosed families, through life and in the event of end of life, we are there as well. We advocated for access to the first treatment that came available for SMA patients and were successful to receive approval in Canada.  Unfortunately it wasn’t approved for all patients. 

Every stepping stone along the path in the Canadian approval process was faced with barriers and the need for strong advocacy to justify patient access to the only treatment for SMA. The unfortunate loss of life and function during this process was devastating.  With a progressive disease such as SMA, every day matters, every day is a loss of function and fear of what the future holds without treatment.  We are now in the process of advocating for two new treatments here in Canada, we still have patients not accessing treatment because they fall outside the criteria for these treatments and we are advocating from square one again, justifying and waiting for approval while our patients continue to experience loss of function and experience high anxiety waiting to hear if the federal and provincial governments makes their life and death decisions. When you have a progressive disease, and are experiencing loss of physical abilities, it is even more devastating to know that other jurisdictions are approving treatment.  In the meantime, we continue our work, to fight for our patient’s right to live their best life, to justify a life with treatment and hope that we are heard and considered partners in the decisions that will impact quality and quantity of life. Until we have a cure for SMA, the need for new and improved treatments will continue. Clearly involvement in clinical trials is essential for this information to be developed and available for Canadians.  We must be participants and not bystanders.

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