Biotech Values

[Biowatch]

For for some radioactive drugs, you need to sleep alone for several nights after treatment and can't have normal relations with your spouse for a week or so afterwards.

The half life of an antibody may be ~20 days, but it the half life of the radioisotope, the decay products of the radioisotope, and the type of radiation (i.e., how far it travels through / outside the body) that are major considerations also. With a short half life, such as found with technetium imaging agents, it isn't as much of a concern.

The medical personnel administering Bexxar have to worry about the radiation (just as your dental technician stands behind a screen and gives you a lead apron when x-raying your teeth), but as the radioisotope decays, the associated concerns drop. Nonetheless, it is NOT the sort of thing the average doctor can administer in his office, and there are probably relatively few medical centers in the country able to do so.

Most insurance companies do not cover the cost of travel to and from health care facilities, nor do they pay for family members to stay nearby, even if they may need to be there for support or to transport the patient home afterwards.