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Leah Wiebe gets her miracle

BC Ministry of Health agrees to pay for bulk of medical costs associated with cancer treatment
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Leah Wiebe, right, and her sister Ruth Magee.

Terrace’s Leah Wiebe got her miracle, with the B.C. Ministry of Health agreeing to pay for her cancer treatment in the United States.

It’s just one more step in the long, difficult journey, started in May 2016 when the young mother of two was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

From current reports, the B.C. Ministry of Health held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss Leah’s case, and approved coverage for the medical expences of the CAR-T treatment she needed.

The travel and living costs are not being covered, and fundraisers continue to support those costs.

Leah and family will head to Seattle next week to begin treatment.

Thank you. ❤️

Posted by Leah J Wiebe on Thursday, July 13, 2017

Related: Young mother needs expensive U.S. leukemia treatment

The following was posted on Facebook last night by Leah’s sister Roth Magee:

This week Leah’s father and a friend of the family contacted the BC Ministry of Health to work with the Ministry, the oncologist and the amazing team at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle to find a solution for Leah’s critical, time-sensitive need. Today (July 13th) the Ministry assembled an emergency committee to review Leah’s case and at 1PM this afternoon they issued their approval to provide funding for out-of-country medical expenses for Leah while she is participating in the CAR-T therapy trial in Seattle.

Today Leah also received results from her lab work that indicated she is still eligible to participate in the trial and the family is now planning to travel to Seattle next week to begin the treatment.

While the government will cover her planned medical expenses for the CART-T trial, any emergency or unrelated medical expenses are NOT covered. Leah and her family will have to live in Seattle for a minimum of 3 months while she is enrolled in the trial. She is an outpatient during the trial; no living expenses are covered.

All indications are that once Leah completes the therapy she will need to return to Vancouver for a bone marrow transplant which requires a hospital stay of at least 6 weeks.

The treatment that Leah will be getting is revolutionary in the fight against cancer. One of the miracles that affected the decision of the Ministry of Heath to fund Leah’s CAR-T treatment came just in time for Leah. In fact, it arrived yesterday (July 12th). The FDA unanimously endorsed CAR-T therapy.

Leah’s recovery is the concerted focus of her family and as such they have almost no income and must rely on the generosity and support given others. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SUPPORTED LEAH THUS FAR!.