AZ Teen Cancer Survivor Diego Morris Speaks @ Senate Hearing on Access to Life-Saving Treatments

Brought to you by Bill Luke

A Phoenix high school student heads to Washington to share his story of beating cancer, but he didn't defeat the disease in the United States. That's because the drug he needed wasn't available in this country, so his parents moved to Europe. Now he'll be asking lawmakers to make it easier for sick patients to get their hands on a potentially life-saving treatment not available in the U.S. For nine months, Diego Morris and his family lived in the United Kingdom. He and his brother attended a British school and he saw British doctors. He will be telling lawmakers about his family's decision and how it likely saved his life. Diego was a healthy growing 11-year-old. He played sports and stayed busy, then everything changed. "I started feeling some sharp pain in my knee and it continued for about a week," he said. An x-ray revealed a rare bone cancer, Osteosarcoma, often seen in teenagers. Surgery removed most of the tumor and repaired his leg, but Diego needed more treatment. A drug called Mifamurtide or MPT, showed promise It's been approved in Europe, but not in the U.S.

Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.) will hold a hearing on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 to examine the barriers preventing terminally ill patients and those with debilitating diseases from accessing new and potentially life-saving therapies.

The full list of witnesses is below:

Joseph V. Gulfo, M.D.

Executive Director, Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Darcy Olsen

President and Chief Executive Officer

Goldwater Institute

Laura McLinn

Indianapolis, Ind.

Diego Morris

Phoenix, Ariz.

Nancy Goodman

Executive Director

Kids v Cancer