‘TO look and listen to Daniel Roper you would never think that a month ago he was at death’s door.
Melanoma had spread through his body and the Melbourne man, 25, was given two days to live, the Herald Sun reported.
But at the 11th hour a US drug company, hospital ethical boards and brave doctors gave Mr Roper a long shot at life – an experimental course of drugs.
Overnight on February 28 he recovered and, just four days later, he walked out of the Austin Hospital…..’ source
Assuming this story is “as reported” it raises a question in this layman’s mind–of course clinical trials are necessary and of course every care should be taken when developing a new drug before it reaches the market. But in cases such as this, where there’s no realistic hope of recovery why not use whatever drug is available under something like an “urgent experimental” category? The clinical trials will still go on and provided the patient concerned is able to give informed consent there would seem to be absolutely no down-side. Sometimes, it seems to Wabbit, The System grinds along without any input from commonsense and common humanity.
