My wife Mikaela is dying of kidney cancer, but a new drug could save her life. Please sign my petition asking drug companies BMS, Merck, and Genentech to give Mikaela access to this medicine.

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Mikaela was my high school sweetheart, my college girlfriend, and we got married the summer after she and I graduated from rival schools: Berkeley and Stanford. For my entire adult life, she has been my home. Two years into married life, she was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney cancer. Now Mikaela could die, and I am fighting to get access to a new drug that could give us a chance at saving her life.

Mikaela received her diagnosis last fall. After six months of treatment, we are running out of options. We found out about a new kind of breakthrough drug being tested by several pharmaceutical companies that is set to revolutionize treatment for many cancers, including kidney cancer. We’ve tried to get into many clinical trials for this drug, but because Mikaela has a very rare subtype of cancer, she’s been deemed ineligible.

But then we got new hope: an oncologist at Stanford agreed to oversee Mikaela’s care if one of the drug companies that manufactures this new drug, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, or Genentech, would agree to give Mikaela access to the drug under a “compassionate use” program.

I started a petition on Change.org asking Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and Genentech to give Mikaela access to the drug that could save her life. Will you click here to sign?

We’ve been trying everything we can think of to help Mikaela get access to this new drug. Then her doctors suggested we start a petition, because other patients have had success that way. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, a 7-year-old boy in Virginia got access to a new cancer drug after his family started a petition. 

I’m not a radical person; I’m just deeply in love with Mikaela. We’re not starting this petition looking for a battle. We’re looking for allies in the battle we’re already fighting. 

Mikaela is only 25 years old. We have so much left to do in our lives. I can’t lose her knowing that there is medicine out there that could save her life if only she could access it. Medicine, mind you, that will be FDA approved and the new gold standard for kidney cancer treatment by 2015.

Please sign my petition calling on Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and Genentech to give Mikaela access to the drug that could save her life.

After you sign, join our community and help us fight. We rely upon our followers to help us give Mikaela a chance.

Thank you for helping me fight for the love of my life. Mikaela and I appreciate it more than we can say.

Keith Knapp
Folsom, California