Cancer patient denied coverage for life-saving drug after years of successful treatment

Robyn Crawford, 44, was told Monday that the drug keeping her metastatic breast cancer stable would no longer be covered by Alberta Health Services—and that her next scheduled infusion the following day would cost $9,700 if she wanted to proceed.

Crawford had been receiving pembrolizumab (Keytruda) every three weeks since her cancer spread to her lungs in 2024. The tumours shrank significantly, leaving her with two small stable nodules. In medical terms, that result is as close to remission as stage-four metastatic cancer gets. "When there's nothing showing up on a scan, you're considered 'no evidence of disease,' and that's as good as it gets," she said.

She did not receive the Tuesday infusion. Instead, she is now facing a choice between paying thousands every three weeks indefinitely, reducing her dose or frequency in consultation with her oncologist, or stopping treatment and hoping tumours don't reappear on scans.

AHS operates under a policy that caps the number of treatments it will fund for this drug, Crawford's defence counsel and oncologist have confirmed. Crawford said she was never warned this limit existed and had no opportunity to explore funding alternatives or adjust her treatment plan before the cut-off. "The communication certainly could have been better," she told the Calgary Herald. "We should have been having conversations about what this would mean for me, and possible adjustments to dosage, and giving me time to look at other avenues of potential funding."

Crawford already outlived the prognosis she was given before starting treatment. She will need immunotherapy for the rest of her life if her cancer is to remain stable. Her partner's health benefits are unlikely to cover much, if anything. She is hoping AHS will grant an exemption given her treatment success. Alberta's Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services has not yet responded to requests for comment.