New Brunswick cancer patient depleted savings to travel for clinical trial in Toronto
But despite seeing encouraging results, the province says she doesn't qualify for a program that helps pay for food and lodging for out-of-province cancer treatment.
'It's frustrating because I know that the program is out there and I know it's there to help people like myself that are in that situation,' said Kim Doucette.
'But it doesn't talk about all these parameters that you kind of have to fit in to be able to get it.'
Doucette has been travelling to Toronto's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre since February to receive chemotherapy as part of the clinical trial.
She was referred there after her treatment in New Brunswick didn't go as well as hoped, and she was given up to 18 months to live.
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'I just three days ago had my last CT results and my cancer is down about 45 per cent in my body. So it's working right now, so it's very positive,' she said.
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Her travel and lodging expenses have added up quickly, amounting to about $3,500 a month. Her rent alone is $2,400 per month, and that's at a 50 per cent discount.
'It becomes a lot, of course, because you're like paying for two homes,' she said.
'I'm trying to save my life and I am trying to get home and I have had lots of support from family and friends.'
While she receives a discounted rate on her apartment in Toronto through a charity, a hospital social worker told her that her family's income is too high to qualify for help from several other charities.
Doucette says she was floored when her application for the provincial program was denied back in April.
'It's heartbreaking because I'm doing the best I can to save my life, and that's why I'm here,' she said.
'I definitely think there should be more support for me because it is working. And so that's what I'm here to fight for.'
In a statement to Global News, the Department of Health said New Brunswickers who receive out-of-province services covered by Medicare, and who require lodging, may be reimbursed.
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'Services generally accepted within New Brunswick as experimental or that are provided as applied research are not covered by Medicare,' the statement said.
A provincial spokersperson said that any medical care a patient would require not related to the trial would be covered by Medicare through an interprovincial agreement.
Doucette's treatment is being paid for by GSK Pharmaceuticals, the company conducting the trial.
She says her savings are now almost completely depleted, and she's calling on the province to change its policy.
'It's weighing heavy on me and my husband, you know, he's the one that does everything for our family,' she said. 'So, it's a lot.'
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