HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an investigator's story that aired on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007, on KPRC Local 2 at 4 p.m.
A 35-year veteran Houston firefighter who led a courageous fight to get insurance companies to cover clinical trials has died. Local 2 investigates first introduced you to Steve Jahnke earlier this year as he battled cancer and the city's insurance company.
Investigative reporter Amy Davis has more about Jahnke and his fight.
Anderson Cancer Center. All he wanted was a chance, but his insurance company would not cover a clinical trial that he hoped would save his life.
Now his death marks the end of the long-running Jahnke era at the Houston Fire Department.
"You either fight them or your give up," he said earlier this year.
Jahnke is no stranger to fighting.
For 35 years, he battled blazes as a Houston firefighter.
But 10 months ago, Jahnke began a new fight against Stage 4 skin cancer.
He and his wife Renee soon found out the cancer was not the only battle ahead.
"Steve needs this chance, that opportunity to save his life," Renee Jahnke said.
You see, chemotherapy didn't work, so MD Anderson Cancer Center approved Jahnke for a clinical trial -- a study testing two drugs sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.
But a small clause in the city's health insurance plan, HMO Blue, allowed the company not to pay for potentially life-saving treatments because clinical trials are considered experimental or investigational.
"They're being denied clinical trials that could save their lives," Renee Jahnke said.
The Jahnke's appealed to HMO Blue, but in the months it took for a final decision to be made, Jahnke's cancer spread and he was no longer eligible to participate in the trial.
Jahnke and his family still fought for others -- trying to convince both the city and state lawmakers to require insurance companies to cover clinical trials for patients fighting life-threatening diseases.
Fighting for others has been a long-standing Jahnke family tradition. Jahnke's father, uncles and cousins all worked as Houston firefighters.
Steve Jahnke was the last family member to work at HFD -- a proud tradition remembered now as an honored legacy.
Steve Jahnke will be remembered for taking on courageous battles both in and out of uniform.
His family hopes his final fight leads to long-standing change.
Several city council members vowed to take up Jahnke's fight, but so far, there have been no changes to the city's insurance policy. We'll keep following it to see what happens.
Copyright 2007 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
