Cancer Patient Urges Lawmakers to Pass Chemotherapy Bill

Jim Logan is living with leukemia.



\"When I was diagnosed, I was given 42-months to live,\" said Logan.



He was diagnosed in 1999 and was ready to get a bone marrow transplant until he heard about Dr. Brian Druker.



\"There was a little blurb on the internet about a guy in Oregon, who treated 6, maybe 7 patients with a new drug and he had 100% success,\" Logan recalled, \"and I said I need to find out about this.\"



For fifteen years, Logan has logged thousands of miles, traveling between Wisconsin and Oregon to participate in clinical trials for different cancer drugs.



\"Having leukemia-- changes your life,\" he said.



Logan is one of many patients who could benefit from SB 300, a bill that aims to make chemotherapy more affordable, including the pill form.



\"Right now it doesn't affect me because I'm in a clinical trial,\" explained Logan, \"but when that clinical trial ends, it will definitely affect me.\"



Logan says chemotherapy pills cost patients like him up to $170,000 each year.



\"You never debate spending the money,\" he said, \"it's afterwards, thinking, 'how are you going to pay for it?'\"



Despite progress in cancer treatment, Logan emphasizes there is still no cure for leukemia.



\"With leukemia, they don't even use the word remission,\" he explained, \"cancer of the blood is something that you can never totally eradicate, you can control, but you can never eliminate it.\"



Many state lawmakers believe passing SB 300 is a victory in the fight against cancer, but insurance companies have express opposition toward the measure.



Logan says at the end of the day, this should not be about money.



\"Without this bill, the expense can mean the difference for some families between bankrupcy and continuing to have a normal life style,\" said Logan.



No word on when Logan's clinical trial will end, but he hopes this bill will help more cancer patients live longer.