CareToLive Writ to Supreme Court Fighting FDA for Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy

CareToLive Sends Writ to Supreme Court of the United States October 24th, 2008 | Posted by CTL Share This

While the FDA continues to tow the untenable line they have chosen and while they continue to refuse to admit to their mistakes, much less take any action to fix them, Patients including CareToLive members continue to suffer.

This recent note was received from a very loved member of CareToLive:

“Just a note to thank everyone who has worked so hard over the past year and a half to oppose the FDA’s reckless disregard of cancer patients. I think it was Stalin who said: “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”

That’s how I feel. Today my PSA is 300+ and doubling every 2 months. I did participate in a NCI Prostvac study in Bethesda. It slowed my disease for a while but I was recently dropped from the study due to disease progression in bone scans. The NCI doc recommended I get taxotere ASAP and did mention some past research suggesting following vaccine therapy with chemo enhances the effect of chemo. I’ll keep a happy thought, but what really maddens me was the study doc’s analysis that I simply had too much tumor mass for the vaccine treatments to overcome. I can only think of what might have been the outcome if I could have had Provenge treatments a year ago May when my PSA was moving through the 12 to 18 range. The latest interim report that a 20% survival improvement doesn’t quite cut it felt like a stake through the heart. Statistics rule.

Out of options, I’ll try the taxotere and hope for the best. I’m frustrated, tired, and out of energy for fighting the FDA, BUT I want you to know that I believe that God has a special place in heaven for you and your friends who put so much fight into representing people like me.”

We at CareToLive are humbled that a patient that is fighting for his very life would take the time to thank us. Tonight before you go to bed everyone say a prayer for all those men who are currently suffering from this dreaded disease.

It is for him and others like him and the patients of the future that we continue the fight. We just completed our writ for the Supreme Court which can be found here.

While I have no illusions about the chance that the Supreme Court will grant our writ of certiorari if by chance they did grant it then I am confident we would win it. The argument put forth is legally sound. The Court was wrong to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds.

Such a writ is basically a request that the Supreme Court review the matter. If they grant cert it would mean that they have agreed to review the case and invite the parties to submit briefs and make oral argument. If they deny cert then they do not review it.

Meanwhile, while CBER head Jesse Goodman has the power to reconsider Provenge based on the Citizens Petition filed by CareToLive he seemingly lacks the courage and the fortitude to do so, even though it is clearly the humane thing to do. Instead he chooses to ignore the citizens and he chooses not to respond to the numerous letters and e-mails sent to him from CareToLive since his January 2008 response that said: they are still actively considering the petition, but need more time. CBER, anyone home, hello, hello!