HALIFAX -- The family of a young woman who's been battling cystic fibrosis (CF) has announced her passing.
Chantelle Lindsay was diagnosed with CF at three months old. She had managed her symptoms all her life while staying active -- until last October, when her lung function started rapidly decreasing.
Her family says she died Wednesday morning in hospital in Halifax.
After her lung function began declining last October, her family wanted to prescribe her a breakthrough drug called Trikafta. It was approved for use in the United States late last year and the new drug can treat 90 per cent of cystic fibrosis patients.
It costs $300,000 per year, but it's not available to patients in Canada.
Health Canada confirms the drug's manufacturer, Vertex, has not applied for approval for use in the country yet, and it says it can't compel it to do so.
Chantelle’s medical team sent requests to both the federal health department, and the maker of the drug, for special access. Health Canada approved the request, but Vertex Pharmaceuticals recently rejected the request.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, her father Mark Lindsay says they will continue "fighting and supporting other CF warriors."
Chantelle Lindsay was 23 years old.
