A campaign spearheaded by former Lord Mayor of Melbourne and chairman of the Australian Grand Prix, Ron Walker, has managed to persuade pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp and Dohme to provide a 'miracle drug' free of cost for the sickest skin cancer patients in Australia.
Known as MK-3475, the drug reportedly cured Walker's cancer when he was undergoing a life-saving PD-1 treatment in the United States back in 2013.
Basal Cell Cancer of the Skin
Basal cell cancer is a locally invading cancer. It often occurs on the face above a line joining the angle of the mouth and the ear lobe.
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The drug has been found to generate a positive response in 50 percent of patients suffering from advanced melanoma and is better than the current most effective treatment, Yervoy, which was found to be beneficial for 10 to 20 percent of the patients.
"It worked a miracle. In fact the professor said to me: 'Do I believe in miracles?' and I said: 'yes I do'. I'm a living example of a drug that actually works because the cancer is gone", Walker told 7News health reporter Karen O'Sullivan.
Source: Medindia
Source: Medindia
Melanoma
Melanoma of the skin is a dangerous type of skin cancer that usually appears as a cancerous mole due to exposure to the sun's damaging UV rays.
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