Letters | Ensure cancer patients’ access to more therapy options
- Readers discuss how to help patients in long-term cancer management, concerns about Article 23 legislation, and why Hongkongers should cultivate a sense of gratitude
CLL, a generally incurable and slow-growing blood cancer with higher incidence among adults aged over 50, demands a nuanced approach to treatment. The finite duration of Venetoclax-based treatment is certainly a milestone, but it is imperative to recognise that CLL’s disease trajectory can be highly variable.
The option of continuous therapy, which either Zanubrutinib or Venetoclax can provide, is equally critical. Like many cancers, CLL has the potential to develop resistance to treatment. Continuous therapy options like Zanubrutinib can be vital for patients who have developed resistance to initial treatments, for whom time-limited therapy is unsuitable, or for those who are able to maintain a regimen that suits their lifestyle and preferences without undue interruption.
Therefore, we urge the Hospital Authority to include Zanubrutinib in the formulary with safety net coverage, ensuring that all patients, regardless of their unique clinical circumstances, have access to the best possible care. Such an advancement would also align Hong Kong with world-leading standards for CLL therapy.
Oncologists elsewhere recognise the value of Zanubrutinib, as evidenced by the public access to this drug in the provincial formularies of Ontario and Quebec, Canada.
Providing access to both novel classes of drugs used to treat CLL – Zanubrutinib and Venetoclax – would allow CLL patients who face financial difficulties and the Hospital Authority physicians who treat them to make informed choices that best suit their treatment needs. The ultimate goal is a drug formulary that evolves in tandem with global medical advancements.
By reclassifying Zanubrutinib as a self-financed drug covered by the safety net in the Drug Formulary, our health regulator would be demonstrating a patient-centric approach to the long-term management of CLL for every patient.
Mike Cheung, trustee, Cypress Charitable Trust
What does Article 23 law mean for religious freedom?
Under the proposed Article 23 legislation, would the Vatican be considered a “foreign political organisation”? Would branches of the Vatican, including the local Roman Catholic Church, be considered “political organisations”?
If the answers to the above are yes, in extreme cases like the riots of 2019, would church leaders be breaking the law?
The above concerns could have deep repercussions for religious freedom in Hong Kong. I should be grateful if they could be clarified publicly.
Anthony Ha, Mid-Levels
With grateful hearts, let’s move forward
This is not to say we should give up: not at all. But to survive and to rise, we need to cultivate a sense of appreciation and gratitude.
Remember how our medical practitioners took us through the Covid-19 days at the risk of their own health? A friend of mine who works in a public hospital as a nurse can testify to the pressure she and her colleagues faced. They continue to serve the city diligently after the pandemic. Surely we owe them more respect than has been shown to them.
And let’s not forget those occupying lower rungs of the economic ladder, whether they are cleaners, construction workers, labourers, delivery people, drivers of buses, minibuses and taxis, or market and supermarket staff. It is their combined effort that makes our daily lives possible and comfortable. Try to be kinder to them; society will be more harmonious for it.
Being thankful for what we have won’t necessarily change the destiny of our beloved city, but it surely can set us in the right direction: forward.
Jacqueline Kwan, Sai Ying Pun
