Lawmakers meet to discuss critical drug shortages that are hurting patients

CLEARWATER, Fla. - We recently alerted you to a drug shortage problem affecting families in our area. Today a congressional hearing took place in Washington D.C. to address the problem.

We're continuing to cover this story for you as lives are at stake.

Just ask Clarence Robst, a local man who says he lost his son to cancer while he laid in a hospital bed waiting for a cancer drug. “I’ve lost my son and I'll never hear his voice say I love you dad, good night dad. Even though these cards mean so much to me, I'd do anything to have my son back again."

Clarence Robst's son, Brigham, lost his battle with lymphoma earlier this month. His death is heartbreaking enough to this dad, but what bothers Clarence still, he says, is the fact his son couldn't get a needed cancer drug, Bleomycin, due to a drug shortage. "I thought of things, I mean anything to help him get that medication, you know, because I was told he couldn't have it. I was thinking things like, do I have to go to Canada to get this medicine?"

Bleomycin is one drug in short supply on a long list provided by the Food and Drug Administration, who monitors these types of shortages.

Captain Valerie Jensen said, "The FDA has tracked shortages for the last five years and we've noticed a large increase in shortages which occurred in 2010 and we've continued to see a large number of shortages in 2011."

Jensen says the reasons vary from quality issues during manufacturing or delivery to, "Often companies tell us when they discontinue these drugs its because of a business decision. These drugs aren't making as much money as new agents, so unfortunately we see fewer firms making them."

Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are gathering information - and have proposed changes that might include requiring manufactures to notify the FDA when they anticipate a shortage or stoppage.

That kind of law would come too late for Brigham Robst - but this father hopes a change may be his legacy. "It's going to get to the point people are fighting for drugs. People will do things that are illegal to get it because they love their children and their families. What do you expect people to do? So it's sad my son had to die for this but if my son's death helps wake someone up in Washington, DC or some politician who can get something going than I feel my son didn't die in vain."

More:  Patients suffer due to national shortage of cancer medications

More:  National drug shortage plagues pharmacies, puts patients at risk