'This has to change': New dad, grieving mom fighting for Alberta to cover rare cancer treatment
A new dad from the Calgary area is pressing the province to fund a new cancer treatment that might improve his chances of seeing his daughter grow up.
Chris Dyment was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in April 2023 and after 12 rounds of chemotherapy, his treatment will soon end.
The 34-year-old’s daughter Courtney was born earlier this month.
“I look at my daughter and I want to be there with her," he said.
“Bile duct cancer is a very aggressive cancer and the percentages aren’t very high to begin with, so any percentage is better than none.”
Bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), is a rare, aggressive cancer currently treated in Alberta by one drug, but if it’s unsuccessful, there is no second treatment option.
Health Canada has approved the use of the targeted therapy Pemigatinib (Pemazyre), but Alberta does not currently cover the roughly $15,000 per month cost.
Dyment desperately wants to be there for his daughter, but he knows his survival rate will drop dramatically without another treatment option.
"Obviously, I want to see her grow and without this drug, it’s almost impossible," he said.
Chris Dyment with his daughter Courtney, who was born on March 1. (Courtesy: Chris Dyment)
The pilot has not been able to work since his diagnosis and will likely be unable to afford Pemigatinib (Pemazyre).
“If this drug works, it really works. People have gotten into surgery which has saved their lives and then I can be there with my daughter when she gets married," he said.
Fighting for change
Brenda Clayton’s oldest daughter, Rebecca, was diagnosed with the rare cancer in 2020 and died in 2021, six and half months after her first-line treatment ended.
Her family has since started the charity Cholangio-hepatocellular Carcinoma Canada.
“I don’t want to see other people go through what Rebecca went through,” Clayton said.
Rebecca (front left) and Brenda (front right) Clayton seen in a family photo. Rebecca died from bile duct cancer in 2021. (Courtesy: Brenda Clayton)
Clayton said patients have an average of five months of survival off treatment unless they can find a treatment elsewhere in the world.
“This cancer is one of the few that does not have a second-line therapy to use,” she said. “This has to change and our Canadians deserve a chance at life.”
She said Quebec and countries including the United States, United Kingdom and China cover the cost of Pemigatinib.
Clayton said she will meet with Alberta Health Minister Adriana Lagrange on April 2 to discuss this.
“We recognize that people living with bile duct cancer have few treatment options and are seeking new and better ways to address this disease. At this time, Alberta is aligned with the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review’s Expert Review Committee,” Alberta Health said in a statement to CTV News.
“However, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance is presently negotiating a pricing agreement with the drug’s manufacturer. If a pricing agreement is reached, each province and territory, including Alberta, will take into consideration both the committee’s recommendation and the pricing agreement when deciding whether or not to list the drug.”
In 2022, the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review’s Expert Review Committee recommended Pemazyre (pemigatinib) not be reimbursed on government-sponsored drug plans due to some uncertainty about the drug’s benefits.
On March 7, 2024, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance started price negotiations with the manufacturer of Pemazyre.
Clayton said aside from Dyment she knows of one other Albertan waiting for the treatment.
She has also reached out to the health ministers in every province and territory in Canada, hoping to be part of a more promising future for people facing this disease.
“When she died she asked us to please continue the fight against cholangiocarcinoma.”
Dyment said he also contacted the health minister and received a similar statement as the one provided to CTV News.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
16-year-old boy fatally shot outside Scarborough plaza identified
Police have identified a teenage boy who was fatally shot in Scarborough’s L’Amoreaux neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon.
Joe Alwyn says breakup with Taylor Swift was 'a hard thing to navigate'
Joe Alwyn is speaking publicly for the first time about the end of his years-long relationship with Taylor Swift.
Ottawa Food Bank receives largest donation in its 40-year history
210,000 pounds of food was delivered to the Ottawa Food Bank on Saturday, the largest donation in its 40-year history.
Ontario Northland bus fire closes part of Highway 400
Part of Highway 400 was closed on Sunday after an Ontario Northland bus caught on fire.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
Prince William shares childhood photo of him and King Charles III for Father's Day
Prince William on Sunday shared a photograph showing him as a child with his father, King Charles III, to mark Father’s Day in the United Kingdom this year.
Singh 'more alarmed' after reading report, but won't break from Liberal-NDP agreement
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is 'even more alarmed than before' after reading the un-redacted report alleging there are MPs and senators who are participating to some degree in foreign interference efforts.
Global study ranks two Canadian cities high on list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
'We're in pretty good shape': Calgary goes low in water consumption after state of local emergency declared
On a day that a local state of emergency was declared in Calgary, city residents answered a request from the mayor and emergency officials to use less water.