OHIP to pay for 6-year-old's experimental cancer treatment

The family of a six-year-old girl from Ontario was thrilled Tuesday night after finding out the province will pay for an expensive and experimental cancer treatment in the U.S. that doctors say is their daughter's best chance at survival. 

Katie Herron from Cambridge, Ont. has a rare form of cancer in her legs. She has endured most of the typical cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation and even a bone marrow transplant. But her cancer keeps coming back.

The latest result the Hospital for Sick Children shows that 70 per cent of Katie's cells are cancerous, according to Paul Herron, Katie's father.

"It's affected her walking and the ability to stand on her own legs right now," he told CBC Toronto.

Katie's only hope, according to doctors, is the T Cell therapy, which has had some success in trials south of the border.

In a trial at the University of Pennsylvania, all signs of cancer disappeared in 27 of the 30 patients after the procedure.

"Even though we are still in the midst of the trials, it's a patient's best hope," said Jim Whitlock, director of Haematology/Oncology at SickKids.

'A smart bomb'

In Katie's case, doctors will remove cells that typically fight off infection and engineer them to specifically target and kill the cancer in her legs.

"It's almost like a smart bomb that goes for the leukemia cells and the other B cells in the immune system," Whitlock said. "So it's a very selective and targeted or specific therapy."

The treatment, however, comes at a hefty cost — more than $500,000

While family and friends have set up a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for the treatment, the family didn't find out OHIP would pay for the procedure until Tuesday.

Paul Herron said the news was "a big weight off our shoulders."

Even if the province's health-care system can foot the bill for the treatment, the family will still need to pay for living expenses for the nearly two months in Philadelphia.

The treatment is currently not available at SickKids, but the Toronto hospital plans to conduct a similar clinical trial at the end of the year.