We recently received a letter from Dr. Hemant Pathak, a Majuro hospital ophthalmologist. He laid out the need for a drug called Avastin. The hospital had been using it with great success but had run out. With a cost of $800 per vile, the expense would have overwhelmed the hospital budget.

Without this medication to treat diabetic retinopathy, patients were likely to lose their vision. To make matters worse, the advanced forms of diabetic retinopathy lead to a very painful form of glaucoma. The good news is that Avastin often restores vision and can prevent irreversible causes of severe vision loss such as retinal detachments and glaucoma. Since many Marshallese do not have access to surgical retinal care, early and frequent treatment is the key to preventing blindness.