Bjorn

Bjorn had been scheduled to come to NYU once every month for his follow-up visits, but when COVID-19 hit in early March he was no longer able to travel to New York to see Dr. Gardner and receive his medication. I can recall many anxious emails from this patient and his family after their flight to the city was canceled. They were desperate for the medicine and eager to find a solution. We quickly set up a plan to ensure the continuity of his care. I worked with his local oncologist and informed her about the study requirements and the clinic visits that would need to take place every month. I also collaborated with the local pharmacist on the drug shipments. Though we received approval to ship the study drug it was held in customs in Amsterdam for several days. After many phone calls and emails the drug was finally released. Since then, we have successfully shipped 5 cycles of ONC201 to the patient’s home country. In addition to the shipping challenge, Bjorn was admitted to the hospital on two separate occasions. The trial requires all hospitalizations be reported within 24 hours. I teamed up with the local team to have all documents translated into English and sent over within the designated timeframe. I continue to set up check-in calls with Bjorn, and all of our international patients, every 3-4 weeks. Although the time difference in these countries can make it challenging, we always find a way to make it work! Dr. Gardner and I have done our best to make this trial possible for many of our international patients during such trying times.