Thank you, Dr. Hanley, and thank you, Chair.
Mr. Holland, you might remember that we spoke in Parliament earlier this year about a constituent of mine, Noor Ayesha. She'd received a terminal diagnosis of bile duct cancer just after giving birth to her daughter back in February 2023. She and her family and donors on GoFundMe had to raise money to fund a drug that had been approved by Health Canada but not recommended by Canada's Drug Agency. It's a drug that cost $15,000 a month, and it extended her life. Sadly, Noor passed away about a month ago.
The glimmer of hope is that the CDA is now in the midst of reconsidering its decision for a possible recommendation as I and, more importantly, her own oncologist and other doctors had been calling for.
I'm sure you also know that the Canadian Cancer Society released a report this week that shows that the average cancer patient in Canada is grappling with nearly $33,000 in costs over the course of their lifetime. I'm sure that saddens you in the same way it does me, and so I wonder what you can do, or even commit to, in terms of streamlining approvals and funding decisions to speed up access to cancer drugs.