Seniors plead with province to fund Lucentis
Posted May 5, 2010 01:57:18 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Two elderly Nova Scotians are pleading with the Nova Scotia government to change its mind and fund the drug Lucentis.
“I think they should be ashamed of themselves to let their citizens go blind,” says 71-year-old Freda May Burns.
She has what’s called Wet Macular Degeneration, an ailment which causes blindness and affects thousands of Nova Scotians.
Burns only has one working eye, and she says the drug Lucentis could help her.
“This is my right eye and it’s my only eye for my sight,” says Burns. “If I lose that then I’m practically blind.”
Don Moors, 92, has spent thousands already on Lucentis. It’s restored some of his vision, but now that he’s in a nursing home he can’t afford both.
“It’s eating up my savings,” says Moors. “If I didn’t live here I’d probably have more money, but I really can’t afford it.”
Nova Scotia is now the only province in the country that doesn’t fund the drug. PEI made the decision last week to pay for Lucentis.
Health Minister Maureen MacDonald says unfortunately they have to make difficult decisions.
