Ancaster girl denied cancer treatment

The parents of an Ancaster girl battling leukemia found out today that the Ministry of Health will not be covering a treatment that could save their daughter’s life.

Six-year-old Anya Martinez has been fighting the disease since she was two, and has relapsed twice.

Doctors have now exhausted all treatments options available in Canada, but her family and physicians say a new treatment available in Philadelphia shows promising results, but the price tag is steep.

Anya was rushed to McMaster Children’s Hospital Tuesday night, because she was complaining of stomach pain. Her family knows time is of the essence.

The treatment that Anya’s family wants her to get is called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. It’s not available in Canada, but is available at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The price tag starts at $500,000 to $800,000.

The family and Anya’s doctors had made a case to the ministry, asking for financial support and highlighting why Anya is a great candidate for the trial treatment.

Michael Martinez got a package from the ministry today saying why they would not be covering the treatment costs.

“The word trial seems to be in people’s heads, basically they’ve come back and said were not going to cover it, OHIP is not going to cover it, we’re on our own with that. I haven’t read through all the details yet, it looks like because its not enough data it’s too new, which is true it is new, but it’s very promising,” says her father.

The Martinez family has set up a Facebook page and donation site set up, and anyone willing to help can donate here.