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Issues Relating to the Safety of Accutane
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Susan Turney
Good
morning, Chairman Greenwood and the distinguished members of the committee.
My name is Susan Turney and next to me is my husband, Martin.
We live in Watertown, New York and are the proud parents of a beautiful
daughter, Kelly and a handsome son, Matthew.
Matthew took his own life at the age of 16 on March 14, 2001. He was on
Accutane at the time of his unfortunate death.
Needless
to say, his death had a profound effect on our Family and Matt's friends.
Matt was a good student who was well liked by his teachers and had many
friends. Matt
loved to play baseball, basketball and enjoyed swimming.
He also sang in the chorus and played the trombone in the junior and
senior high school bands.
Matt would lift weights in his room and he loved to play pool.
He was a well-adjusted young man. When
Matt was in his early teens, he started to develop pimples.
After trying over the counter acne medications, we took him to a
dermatologist.
Initially, Matt tried the usual course of antibiotics and ointments but
he sometimes didn't remember to use them.
He was more concerned about the white film on his face left by the
ointments, than he was the about the pimples, and he had no qualms in telling
his dermatologist about that.
At
one point, his dermatologist told him there was a medication that worked very
well on acne but had some side effects, like dry skin and chapped lips.
The doctor told him to think it over and they would discuss it at his
next visit. With
youthful impatience, Matt was bugging me to call his dermatologist for an
appointment to discuss this new medication.
The doctor prescribed Accutane and informed Matt that he needed to be
aware of the side effects before beginning treatment.
He was told that it would cause very dry skin and chapped lips.
He was also told to avoid the sunlight and not to share Accutane with any
female friends because it could be potentially dangerous.
Matthew and I both listened carefully to the dermatologist and we decided
that it would be a good treatment for his mild acne.
That
evening, October 5, 2000, Marty and I were watching the last part of an
interview on a program that I believe was Dateline NBC about a man and his wife
discussing how their son had committed suicide while taking Accutane.
At that time, we did not realize that it was Congressman Stupak.
Marty
said, "Isn't that the medication that Matt just got?"
So I went to the kitchen to check the package and sure enough, it was the
same medication.
By this time, Matt came out to the livingroom and started to watch the
remainder of the interview with us.
When it was over, Matt said, "I don't want to take anything that's
going to make me kill myself!"
Needless to say, while we were all concerned about what the Father on TV
was saying, we thought to ourselves there must be something more to this story
than just Accutane.
There must be something wrong with that family or that child.
Within
a day or two Matthew and I returned to his dermatologist.
We went back to the Dermatologist to discuss story of the Mother and
Father on TV, their sad experience and our concerns about Accutane.
The Dermatologist said that there had been a couple of unsubstantiated
cases of depression and suicide, but that there was no scientific proof that
Accutane could cause it and that Matt "didn't fit the profile anyway".
Matt and I left the doctor's office feeling secure about what we had
heard. We
told my husband that the doctor said that we should not be concerned. Matt
started taking the Accutane and sure enough, within several weeks he started
developing dry skin and chapped lips.
The pimples were improving and we noticed no other side effects. On
Tuesday, March 13, 2001, we had a very nice dinner, talked about the day's
events and joked and laughed about everything. Matt
even showed off his dishwashing skills by showing us how to quickly load the
dishwasher with expert speed and skill that he learned on his job with a big
smile on his face.
The
next morning, Matt got up for school as usual and got on the bus. Matt had a
perfect attendance at school that year.
Before leaving, he looked at his father, smiled and said "Good
Bye". He
also yelled to me as I was getting ready in my bathroom, and said
"Good Bye Mom.
I love you" just as he did every morning. Apparently,
Matt had a good day at school; he talked to his guidance counselor about a
program she had recommended for him for the next year.
He asked a girl to the upcoming dance and she agreed to go with him.
He had taken a couple of tests that day and did well on them.
On the ride home Matthew sat with friends and laughed and fooled around
just like any normal kid.
He got off the school bus at approximately 3:00 PM, and stopped at the
mailbox, picked up the newspaper and mail for me as he always did.
He took off his shoes in the entranceway as he was taught to do, placed
the mail and newspaper on the kitchen counter as normal, went into his room and
hung up his coat. It
was at this point that his normal routine changed.
Matthew did not turn on the TV, or get a snack or check his email as
usual. Instead
he went into to our master bedroom and unlocked the gun case and shot himself. His
father came home from work and saw Matthew's car in the driveway.
He entered the house and as usual yelled "Hello", but there was no
response. There are glass mirror closet doors in our bedroom where Marty could
see part of Matthew.
He thought Matt was playing a practical joke on him.
He went down the hall and said "Come on Matt, this is not
funny". But
there was no response.
After shaking Matt a little Marty could feel that his face was cold.
He placed his head against Matthew's chest to see if he could hear his
heart beat. He
then noticed the gunlock on the floor and ran to the kitchen and called 911 for
an ambulance.
Martin continued CPR until he heard my car pull into the garage.
He ran to the door and said, "Something bad has happened, it's
Matthew, he shot himself."
Martin and I went to the bedroom and I started screaming. We continued
with CPR hoping that Matthew be revived.
At the hospital they tried to revive Matthew and then pronounced him
dead. We
went to Matt's side one last time with the priest and prayed and said good-bye
to our baby. While
we were answering the sheriff's questions at the hospital after Matt was
pronounced dead, one of the questions he asked us is if Matt was taking any
medication. I
told him yes, that Matt was taking Accutane for acne.
As soon as I made that statement, Martin looked at me and said "The
Accutane!! Remember
the program we about the Father whose son committed suicide while on Accutane?"
It was like a bell went off in my head.
We told him about what we had seen on TV when Matt first started taking
Accutane. After
talking to all of Matt's friends, family, teachers, and co-workers, we confirmed
what we had already known.
Matthew was not depressed!
His sudden death came as a shock to every person who knew Matt, including
us, his parents. Matt's suicide seemed to be spontaneous. We
found out that Accutane is reserved for the most severe cases of nodular, cystic
acne. Here
is a school picture of our son, which was taken approximately two weeks prior to
the start of Accutane.
As you can see, Matthew did not have severe cystic Acne.
To
the contrary, he went to school that day.
He was making plans for the future.
Had done well on exams that day.
He had made a date with a girl.
He had left school joking with his friends.
There
was no depression.
There was no warning.
There was nothing for us to look for.
There was no reason for his death,
other than Accutane. Having
a dermatologist informed about the signs of depression would not have made a
difference to Matthew.
Having a dermatologist talk to our son regarding suicide would not have
made a difference to Matthew.
Having an informed consent form would not have made a difference to our
son or our family. The
only thing that would have made a difference is if Roche would finally admit to
dermatologists that there is a causal relationship between suicide and Accutane,
and admit
that it occurs without warning.
Then parents would have the information and the tools to stop using this
drug. Remember,
the dermatologist told us exactly what Roche continues to say and what every
parent wants to hear - there is no scientific proof and these are
unsubstantiated reports.
What they are really saying is, "don't worry, there must have been
something wrong with those kids, those families, their lives."
Roche must know that is exactly what parents of a child considering this
drug want to hear. It can never and will never happen to us.
But it does. We
strongly request to you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee that stronger
action be taken to make certain that no other people die from this drug.
We believe this drug is dangerous.
The dangers and the unpredictable nature of the dangers don't outweigh
the need to eliminate pimples, especially when the FDA recognizes that most
people are prescribed Accutane for relatively minor acne. My
husband and I wish to thank you for this opportunity to hear Matthew Turney's
story.
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