KINGSTON, Pa. — Dr. David Greenwald has been at this for a while, but this is new for him. He formed Medical Oncology Associates in Kingston back in 1977. This is the first time he's had to deal with a shortage of two common chemotherapy drugs.
"It seems to be real, and we're coming down to the wire," Dr. Greenwald said.
The drugs in short supply are carboplatin and cisplatin. He says since these basic drugs are relatively cheap compared to some of the newer cancer treatments, not many factories make them. So, when one shuts down because it didn't pass an inspection or there's a worker strike, for example, it can cause trouble fast.
"We're just out of luck. They just don't produce those drugs," Dr. Greenwald said.
His office has enough to last about another week.
Here's what he's telling his patients who are anxious.
"We'll find good substitutes. We'll weather it for a few weeks. We'll get through it; I'm sure we will. Our patients are nervous. Our nurse manager is nervous. We'll do it on a priority basis."
The FDA hopes to ease the pain by allowing the U.S. to import a previously unapproved drug from China.
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