Help on the Way
Chris Hawes reports
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DALLAS - It's a story that both angered and mobilized many News 8 viewers.
Ruby Samilton, dying of lung cancer, packed her worldly belongings in a U-Haul truck to spend her final months with family members. But along the way, thieves stole everything - including $4,000 worth of medicine that could buy her more time.
"It just felt like someone had murdered me," she said. "Without it, I feel like I'll die."
Samilton didn't have the money to purchase more of the expensive Tarceva medication, but after our original story was broadcast, many viewers contacted News 8, saying a loved one had died and left the same type of life-saving medication behind.
"That was the prescription that the oncologist prescribed for mother for her cancer," said Navarro County Chief Deputy Mike Cox. "She was only able to use two pills."
But Cox knew something our other callers did not - there's no way to legally give Samilton those pills, not even through her doctor.
"I worked narcotics for 13 years," Cox said. "I knew I couldn't give it to anyone without violating Texas law."
But hope was not lost.
Jim Schwartz, a corporate pharmacist with Texas Oncology, also heard about Samilton's story. He directed his team to do anything necessary to help her.
"We decided we are going to do this whether we get replacement or not," Schwartz said. "It's important to the patient to have that pill."
A free one-month supply of Tarceva is on its way to Ruby Samilton, who is now in Oklahoma. "That gives me an incentive to keep going," she said.
Offers of financial help are also pouring in, and one woman drove a large donation over to Samilton's family in Haltom City, unable to bear the thought of her missing another dose.
The family says their ordeal is about more than medicine; they've regained their faith in mankind.
