There was recently a conference call with breast cancer patient advocates and researchers held by the Research Advocacy Network.

The Audio recording from  the 1/28/2008 Discussion on ODAC vote on Avastin and Clinical Trial Endpoints Available
The audio recording from the discussion call held on 1/28/2008 to address questions on the ODAC vote on Avastin and Clinical Trial Endpoints is now available by clicking here.

It is also available as a podcast through  iTunes link and as a  RSS link.

While this is a discussion between breast cancer advocates and researchers it is a great learning tool for both patients and advocates who want to understand the process by which drugs become approved for market, the way doctors and patients make treatment decisions and the long term impact of this decision on cancer drug approval.  It should be something that concern us all. We all look to research to find a cure but is a cure the most immediately important thing to patients? Is disease free survival as important or maybe more important than overall survival to patients? How much risk is a patient with a life threatening disease willing to take? What role does the FDA take in making these decisions for patients by approving or not approving a drug?

These are all discussions where intelligent and knowledgeable people may disagree but the discussion should take place.  Advocates should be aware and involved.

The recording of the conference call takes approximately one hour but it is an hour well spent. Some people may not understand all the medical terminology but you will understand what the issues are which is the most important part of the call for us.

As empowered  patients and as involved advocates this is an hour well spent. As you listen think about how this is similar to the prostate cancer experience with recent drug applications at the FDA.

As a community, where do we stand on these issues? What can we do about them? Most importantly, are we even thinking and talking about them?