07/10/2010 // McKinney, Texas, US // Get Cancer Answers // News Desk
McKinney, TX – A North Texas family whose loved one died after suffering an allergic reaction to a chemotherapy drug is emphasizing the importance of blood testing for allegories before beginning drug treatments. As reported by CBS 11 News, the family of Bobby Jean Hester, 72, who passed away in May after exhibiting an allergic response to taking Fluorouracil or 5-FU, recently opened up about their family ordeal.
Lori Hernandez, daughter of Hester, is quoted by CBS 11 as stating of her father’s reaction to the drug, “He started swelling and he couldn’t eat because his tongue was swollen so big… It’s not the cancer that killed him. It was the chemo.”
As noted in the report, according to medical experts, doctors are not required to conduct testing for an enzyme deficiency linked to the body’s inability to process 5-FU, which is purportedly linked to over 1300 patients deaths a year. The family of Hester is encouraging others to request screening for these types of allergies beforehand.
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