Victoria man speaks out about skin disease

Life as a teenager was hell for Kevin Ashley. That's when psoriasis appeared on his body.

The itchy, scaly skin disease that crept over his arms and legs made stripping for gym class or swim lessons torture. As an adult he refused to wear shorts and tank tops in the summer.

Even on a vacation to the Caribbean with close friends he wore long pants on the beach.

"Everyone would say 'don't worry about it,' but you get so self-conscious about it," the Victoria resident said. "People look at you in a different way and ask if it is contagious."

It's not. About one million Canadians in Canada have psoriasis. There are degrees to the disease, which is genetic or brought on by stress and trauma. Ashley had one aunt in his family who had the disease.

Severe, or plaque psoriasis is caused by the body's immune system attacking itself. T-cells which normally help protect the body against infection migrate to the top of the skin and produce proteins which cause the skin to reproduce about eight times faster than normal, resulting in a bulky, red, scaly rash.

Three years ago, Ashley saw an ad in a local paper asking for volunteers with severe cases of psoriasis to take part in a drug trial, which involved getting four shots a year of the drug. When he went to be interviewed by the drug company psoriasis covered 30 per cent of his body. After the second shot the disease receded.

Although it's not completely gone – he still has three small patches – his life has changed. And he hasn't experienced any side effects. Married for 22 years, his wife saw him this year in shorts for the first time. Not embarrassed now about being in a gym, he's dropped 25 pounds through regular exercise.

October is National Psoriasis Month, but Dr. Lorne Albrecht is aware of the skin disease 12 months a year. The Surrey-based dermatologist sees about 10 patients a day living with psoriasis. And although patients can mask the condition with clothing, he said, they can become socially reclusive because they are so wary of being in the open.

"It has a huge impact on quality of life comparable to heart or kidney disease,"Albrecht said.

Ashley tried many medications over the years, but none worked. And although he's got two years left on the five-year trial for Stelara, the drug that Toronto-based Janssen-Ortho is testing, he wonders what will happen at the end of that time.

Ashley is a member of the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance, a support group for psoriasis sufferers, which has lobbied B.C.'s Minister of Health to include the drug for Pharmacare coverage. But the drug, which has been approved by Health Canada for sale, is expensive. A year-long treatment is about $18,000, a price tag that's giving the province pause.

"Health Canada approves drugs which they feel are safe and effective to treat the ailment they are marketed towards," said Health Ministry spokesperson Ryan Jabs. "However, Health Canada does not consider the costs of these medications, nor does it consider whether alternative, less expensive drugs are available to treat the same symptoms."

The ministry is reviewing the drug, he said.

vmoreau@saanichnews.com