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John, I wish I could in good conscience urge Dr. Levinson to release the drug to Debbie. In not doing so, I am assuming that the supply is presently severely limited. If he had a large supply of the drug and was withholding it, it would be a sad thing: and I would urge its release to Debbie. More likely, Dr. Levinson has a limited supply and he has his choice of releasing a small supply of the drug, small enough that it would probably not be effective, to the many people who want it, or withholding it from some people so that those who get it will receive it in adequate quantity that it will work. There are statistical means, I am sure, to optimze the number of lives saved; and I would expect that Genentech would be using these means. I am sure that Dr. Levinson and his company are already trying to help as many people as possible. I am sure that Dr. Levinson would like to save the lives of Debbie Taylor and probably many others in her condition. He must view himself and his company as saving lives, which the drug will do for some people, rather than condemning to death those who cannot obtain the medication. He and his company should use their resources to develop more life-saving medications, rather than defending themselves for the allocations they are forced to make. Regardless, I would not like to be in the shoes of Debbie Taylor or of her family - nor of any of the others in her plight - and it would be wonderful if Dr. Levinson could stretch the supply safely to cover several more people, maybe Debbie included. And I would not like to be in the shoes of Dr. Levinson who, while giving life to some, in essence condemns others to death by default. The field of medical ethics is complicated, and I don't care to get involved over my head. People's passions run high when life or death for a loved one is concerned. As I write this to you, I received a call advising that a person whom I consider close to me, a young lady with children 4 and 6, has cancer. My passions are high too. Now, if the allocation or the lottery was forced upon them by a government agency, or by any other external influence, it is an entirely different matter - but then, the letter you suggest we send would have to be directed to another person. Art At 06:16 AM 11/23/97 -0500, John Walker wrote: >It is not often that I will post this type of message because of the >number of pranks that occur on the 'Net. This was sent by Cancerwire, >a usually reliable source. > >JSW >______________________________________________________________________ > >Request For Help In Obtaining Experimental Drug > >From: [log in to unmask] > > Debbie Taylor is a 34 year old West Bridgewater, Mass. woman with a >self-employed husband and two small children ages 3 & 7, and she's dying of >cancer. -clip-