It has been brought to my attention that when I wrote the August 8, 2013 post on Pharma Sponsored Assistance Programs, I neglected to mention another excellent assistance program for men with advanced prostate cancer. The Chronic Disease Fund (CDF) has two funds that might be of specific interest to men with castrate resistant prostate cancer;

1- Although currently closed for new applications (I will make an announcement when the fund re-opens) the Metastatic Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer Fund (mCRPC) can offer assistance to any man at any stage of the disease.
2- The fund that remains open is the Androgen Receptor Inhibitor Fund that is a part of the mCRPC fund. This fund will assist with co-pays for drugs that block the cancer’s use of androgens. The drugs that qualify for financial support are Xtandi, Casodex and Nilandron.

I also like the idea that the Chronic Disease Fund not only requires patients to be 100% compliant with their prescribed treatment, but it provides a special portal for their supported patients which is designed to assist them in staying compliant. CDF also provides a free access therapy management tool.

The Patient Portal monitors an individual’s treatment regimen, dispensing history, and medication usage. It also provides reminder tools and an interactive calendar to help manage care. The Patient Portal will also allow you to monitor your balances of your grants and track payments that have been made.

In addition, I have also found out that the PAN Fund does have an additional open fund for androgen Resistance Inhibitors (Xtandi, Casodex and Nilandron).

Joel T. Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.