A pancreatic cancer drug gave Bobby Senaha more time with his family
Bobby Senaha entered a Phase 1 trial of daraxonrasib after pancreatic cancer progressed despite FOLFIRINOX, Gem-Abrax, an attempted tumour resection and another experimental treatment. Before his first dose in San Antonio, he was sleeping much of the day and taking the maximum amount of oral pain medication. Within 24 hours, his pain eased enough to halve those drugs; by the third day, he walked more than three miles. Six weeks later, scans showed 45% less disease and no remaining lung metastases, and he eventually stopped pain medication altogether.
The treatment caused a painful, sometimes bleeding rash, inflammation around his fingernails and intermittent gastrointestinal problems. Even so, he felt better than during chemotherapy and could again exercise, travel, work and spend meaningful time with his sons. He remained in the trial for 29 weeks, until the cancer mutated and escaped the drug’s effects. His condition deteriorated in August 2024, and after two weeks in hospital he died at home in Hawaii on Aug. 25. His wife, Dana, says daraxonrasib gave the family 10 additional good months together.
Those months came at a steep logistical cost: every 21-day cycle required flights between Hawaii and Texas, along with scans, laboratory work and clinic visits. The family struggled despite good insurance, flexible jobs, medical knowledge, childcare and community support. Now that daraxonrasib has received FDA approval, Dana argues that affordability, specialist access and complex insurance systems could still keep it beyond many patients’ reach.
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