G'day Rutchie
Taxotere was approved under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on 1 November 2007 for the treatment of patients with androgen independent (hormone refractory) prostate cancer (AIPC). The information is available at:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr07-ta-abb109.htm?OpenDocument&yr=2007&mth=09
From my reading of it there is no limit to the availability, so has your father stopped responding to it? Perhaps you need some more information and a talk to your father's oncologist may be in order.
Estracyt is a combination of Oestradiol, which is the major sex hormone in females and nitrogen mustard, a very traditional alkylating agent that has been used for over fifty years to treat cancer. It was also used as a gas in the trenches in world war I. From what I can see from a quick internet search, there has been no approach by Pfizer to Australian regulatory agencies to release the drug in Australia. I guess the thinking behind making this drug is that when it gets metabolised it will release estradiol which will help with the prostate cancer and nitrogen mustard which will attack the cancer cells. To be quite honest I have not heard it mentioned in any discussions on treating advanced prostate cancer - that may jut mean I have not been attending the right forums.
You may want to see if there are any clinical trials available to your father. To see about this there are two websites available: www.cancervic,org.au/trials and www.australiancancertrials.gov.au.
I have searched them for estracyt and there are no trials in Australia using this.
Regards
Sailor
