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Cystic fibrosis wonder drug’s impact, as told by the lives changed

Article image for Cystic fibrosis wonder drug’s impact, as told by the lives changed

A brother and sister have shared how cystic fibrosis drug Kalydeco has changed their lives, as Ray Hadley fights to have new drug Trikafta added to the PBS.

Brooke Austin and Dean Witheridge started on Kalydeco in 2014, through a hospital trial.

Both told Ray the drug has made an incredible difference to their fitness and energy levels, keeping them out of hospital: Dean is back playing golf, and Brooke is playing netball again.

“I couldn’t do without it,” Brooke said.

“It’s a million times better … I’m playing with girls ten, twenty years younger than me and I’m running rings around them!”

Trikafta, which can cost up to $300,000 per year, is a treatment for a different mutation of cystic fibrosis – the most common of them, Dean explained.

For Brooke, being able to access treatment through the PBS hasn’t just saved her life, but brought another into the world.

“My son was the 25th baby in the world to be born to a mum on Kalydeco.

“Dean actually said to me yesterday, would I have tried to have a baby if I wasn’t on Kalydeco?

“My husband … said ‘There’s no way you could’ve done it.'”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty

Ray Hadley
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