When Neil Fachon was 20, he was diagnosed with a rare and incurable brain tumor, a cancer so aggressive it usually kills people within a year. In search of any and all treatment options, Fachon found an experimental therapy being offered in Texas.
But just one day into the treatment, the FDA ordered the doctor offering it to stop. So Fachon and his family decided to sue the FDA for the right to keep trying the experimental drugs.
Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks to Bob Tedeschi, senior writer at the health and medicine publication STAT, about Fachon’s suit against the FDA, and how far patients should be allowed to go in seeking out experimental, potentially life-saving treatments.
Guest
- Bob Tedeschi, senior writer at STAT. He tweets @bobtedeschi.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAwMTM1NDgzMDEyMzg2MDcwMzJjODJiYQ004))