A Family's Plight To Fight Pancreatic Cancer

The Loughman Family Has Been Fighting For A New Drug To Be Released

August 21, 2008
By: MyBayCity Staff

An Indiana family was hoping for a miracle for their mother- in the form of obtaining access to a revolutionary new treatment that holds the potential to cure both Hollywood legend, Patrick Swayze, and their beloved mother and wife from the ravages of pancreatic cancer - one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

On Monday, March 24, 2008 the Loughman family of Indianapolis, IN held a news conference at which they launched a public relations campaign asking the public to help them secure access of the revolutionary new treatment for pancreatic cancer, TNFerade, for patients including their mother/wife - Connie; Mr. Swayze; and others suffering from the disease. (Connie Loughman was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer August 2007, and Patrick Swayze was diagnosed January 2008).

As part of their public campaign, the Loughman family has launched this website: Help Save Our Mother

See a clip from a Nationwide news source on their own investigation of this family and the drug TNFerade: News Clip

Well-meaning, but misguided, regulations have tied the hands of the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) and the biotechnology firm, Genvec, from providing access to the only drug shown to cure the disease.

GenVec, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic drugs and vaccines. GenVec's lead product, TNFerade[TM], is currently in a pivotal clinical study (PACT) in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Additional clinical trials are in progress in rectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and melanoma. GenVec also uses its proprietary adenovector technology to develop vaccines for infectious diseases including HIV, malaria, foot-and-mouth disease, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza.

Pancreatic cancer is the same disease that took the life of operatic tenor, Luciano Pavarotti in September 2007. Actor Patrick Swayze recently announced to the nation that he too is battling pancreatic cancer.

90% of patients die within 1-year of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 95% are dead within 5-years of diagnosis.

The Loughman family hoped that nationwide public exposure would convince the FDA and biotechnology firm, Genvec, to cut through the red tape and grant access of the gene therapy TNFerade to Mrs. Loughman. TNFerade has been shown in clinical trials to have cured patients with pancreatic cancer.

During the course of MyBayCity's research on this family and the drug TNFerade, we recently received the following email from Mrs. Loughman's daughter, Jackie.

----- Original Message -----

From: Jackie Loughman

To: Marlo Leveling - O.J. Advertising, Inc.

Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 11:35 AM

Subject: RE: Article

Hi Marlo,

Thank you for your offer to help. We lost my mother July 15th and I'm still in shock so I'm not sure how much help I will be. Her death has been even more painful to us because the cancer didn't kill her, her death was due to complications from the chemo cocktail she had just started. We knew it was a pretty harsh treatment and never would have agreed to it since, in a best case scenario, it could only extend her life for a few more months but we had hoped that would be long enough for TNFerade to receive (at least) conditional approval.

I realize our story will help other patients so feel free to run it --and if you have any questions you can email me and I will try to answer them the best I can but I just don't have the heart to fight anymore. I'm sorry.

Jackie Loughman

Sadly, the drug TNFerade was not available to Connie Loughman in time to save her life.

GenVec spokesman Margorie Gruff informed MyBayCity on Sunday evening that while this particular drug has proven in clinical trials to not only "treat" but in some instances, "cure" Pancreatic, head and neck and esophageal cancers, it has not been made available to the general public.

Mark Thornton, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Product Development for GenVec did not respond to MyBayCity inquiries on this particular case.

Additional information about GenVec is available at GenVec

TNFerade study (Phase III) information can be found here: TNFerade