Optune- Novocure

HI Melinda_86

a warm welcome to the group. Sorry to hear about all that your cousin is going through.

I supported my husband through his GBM journey but this isn't an option that was mentioned to us. 

One word of caution before investing any trial or alternative drug treatment is to engage with your cousin's medical team to get their thoughts on it. They are best placed to know what is best for the situation and should be happy to advise. 

This is a safe and supportive space so I'm sure some of the other members will be along to share their words of wisdom shortly.

for now though I'm sending you both a huge virtual hug and lots of positive energy

love n hugs

Wee Me xx

Hi Melinda,

My wife has a GBM and I remember seeing this when googling for treatments. I think it's used more in the US depending on if your insurer will pay for it. It says here that NICE (the people who approve new medicines and technology for the NHS) haven't yet reviewed it Tumour Treating Fields (TTF) or Optune® (thebraintumourcharity.org)

And I know I'm only posting links you've probably already seen but Imperial college have a private clinic that seems to have consultants who manage patients on Optune. Supporting patients using Optune to treat glioblastoma | Imperial College Healthcare Private Care

The results do sound encouraging but I would encourage you to first engage with the NHS consultant looking after your cousin first as there may be a trial he can get on. I'd also add a warning that it may be that if he's already having high dose radiotherapy he can't also have the Optune device but hopefully his consultant will know this.

Wishing you and him all the best,

Chris

It's used more in the US I think because medical insurance will pay for it. In the UK I think you will have to pay privately, unless you can get on a clinical trial or can get a compassionate use discount (?). I understood it was in the region of £20k per month, but others might know better.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I should have probably clarified that my cousin is not a UK resident (I am). Given that different treatments are being trialled across Europe, I thought I would ask about this one here. We are still new to the logic of clinical trials/new treatments and it seems sensible to gather as much information as we can at this stage. It is helpful to see which countries are doing what in this regard. Thanks again.