A National shortage of cancer drugs is forcing some Kansas doctors to ration medication. The Kansas News Service reports that supply chain issues have squeezed supplies of more than a dozen chemotherapy drugs. The shortage is hurting treatment for breast, bladder and gynecological cancers. Officials at AdventHealth, Shawnee Mission Cancer Center, says its drug shipments are sporadic, and doctors are cutting patients’ chemo doses by up to 10% to stretch supplies. They say doctors could need to delay some treatments if the problem continues.
Oncology Pharmacist at AdventHealth, Shawnee Mission Kyla Bidne says the shortage is the worst she’s seen in her 20 years as an Oncology Pharmacist and they don’t know from day to day when they are going to receive a drug or receive it all, they plan for the worst and hope for the best. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering temporarily importing drugs from unauthorized overseas manufacturers to help mitigate the shortage.
