DITCHFIELD, Keith
From Kidney Cancer Resource
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Born:
at:
Died: 09-Oct-2007
At:
Aged: 53
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25-Oct-2007 - Cancer drugs campaigner dies (53)
Cancer drugs campaigner dies (53)
Keith DITCHFIELD
View GalleryA BRAVE cancer patient and Clitheroe businessman, who won his appeal to receive a life-prolonging cancer drug free on the NHS, has died. Mr Keith Ditchfield (53), who ran DCL Interiors, Clitheroe, died in the Royal Preston Hospital with wife Helen beside him.
Mr Ditchfield, from Stonyhurst, who suffered with advanced kidney cancer, was initially forced to buy the drug, Nexavar, over the Internet from Germany at £3,000 a month.
The drug was recommended to treat his renal cancer after the East Lancashire Primary Care Trust decided not to fund it.
Diagnosed with the disease in 2005, Mr Ditchfield found out about the drug when he was in Germany paying to have cyberknife-surgery, which is focused radiotherapy treatment not available in the UK. He travelled to Germany five times to receive the groundbreaking treatment costing £12,000 each.
The PCT argued that the drug, used to halt tumour development, had not yet been approved for use in the UK and had been turned down in Scotland.
At the time Mr Ditchfield said he felt "cheated" by the NHS for denying him the vital drug.
However, in March, Mr Ditchfield celebrated victory after health officials at the PCT performed a U-turn and decided to fund the drug. He was subsequently contacted by other cancer sufferers trying to get their local NHS trust to fund Nexavar.
Helen said he never gave up fighting for Nexavar, which improved his quality of life. "His motto was 'no problems only solutions'," commented Helen. "He was very brave throughout his illness refusing to accept there was nothing that could be done to improve his condition.
"He challenged the NHS and campaigned for the drug to be available on the NHS until he won. He wrote articles for the Kidney Cancer UK website and supported other cancer sufferers fighting for free vital treatment from their local NHS.
"In August he collapsed in his office and suffered a broken neck and stroke. He was initially treated at Royal Blackburn Hospital, before being transferred to the Christie Hospital, Manchester and then Royal Preston Hospital where he died."
Born and brought up in Ormskirk, Mr Ditchfield trained as a joiner. The couple married in 1977 and moved to Lancashire in 1978, living in Wheelton, near Chorley, for 10 years until Mr Ditchfield launched building company Ditchfield Contractors. He achieved success and became a local television celebrity after appearing in makeover and property development programmes.
The couple moved to the Ribble Valley in 1997 and opened DCL Interiors, in Shawbridge Street.
An avid Liverpool supporter, Mr Ditchfield was delighted to travel to Istanbul in 2005 to support his team in the European Championship against AC Milan. Paying tribute to her husband, Helen added: "Keith was a very loving and caring husband. We had been looking forward to spending more time together in retirement and now I feel cheated to have lost my soul mate at an early age." More than 100 people attended Mr Ditchfield's funeral last Wednesday, which was held at Accrington Crematorium and led by the Rev. Gillian Mack. Helen aims to continue campaigning for Kidney Cancer drugs and for Cyber Knife treatment to be available in the UK.
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23-Oct-2007 - Businessman who spent £70,000 on cancer drug loses his fight for life
Businessman who spent £70,000 on cancer drug loses his fight for life
A TERMINALLY-ILL Merseyside businessman who spent £70,000 of his own money to aid his fight against cancer has lost his fight for life.
Keith Ditchfield, 53, travelled Europe looking for treatment for his aggressive renal cancer after the NHS in Lancashire, where he was living, refused to pay for Nexavar, a treatment which helped prolong his life.
He spent £3,000 a month on the drug before East Lancashire Primary Care Trust finally agreed to meet the cost earlier this year.
Despite the drug improving his quality of life, the cancer finally got the better of Keith, who died last week.
His wife Helen said: “He was always fighting right until the end. He refused to give up and was brave and dignified.”
Mr Ditchfield first went private when he was told it would take at least a month to remove the Tumour which started the cancer. He then developed a neck tumour and sought treatment in Germany after the NHS said it did not provide the specialist service required.
He also paid to receive Nexavar, from a German clinic, and it was only in February the NHS agreed to pay for it.
Speaking earlier this year, Mr Ditchfield who lived in Stonyhurst, Lancashire, and had family still living in Fazakerley and Aughton, near Ormskirk, said: “I spent my life savings to save my life.
“It’s the natural thing to do, because it’s no good in the bank after you are dead. But I couldn’t have continued to pay for it myself and I felt let down when I couldn’t get it through the NHS.
“I felt cheated.
“I think it’s terrible that you have to pay to save your own life after you have paid National Insurance your whole life.
“When doctors told me there was nothing they could do for me, I didn’t believe them. I knew there were treatments out there.
“The fact the NHS changed its mind means, I hope, that it will be available for other people with the same condition. ”Not everybody is able to pay for it themselves as I have been.”
To view the original of this article Liverpool Post (KC)
Lancashire Telegraph (KC) 18-Oct-07
- 'Brave Keith fought cancer until the end’
Lancashire Telegraph (KC) 23-Feb-08
26-Feb-2007 - Man wins fight with NHS for free cancer treatment
Man wins fight with NHS for free cancer treatment
by Jessica Shaughnessy, Liverpool Daily Post
A TERMINALLY-ILL man who last year spent £70,000 of his own money to prolong his life has won his battle to get treatment free on the NHS.
Liverpool businessman Keith Ditchfield travelled across Europe to find a treatment, and discovered a drug that slowed down the onslaught of his aggressive renal cancer.
The 53-year-old’s bid to get Nexavar on the NHS was rejected and he spent £3,000 a month buying the drug himself, but yesterday he revealed the state has agreed to foot the bill.
Mr Ditchfield, from Fazakerley, said last night: “I spent my life savings to save my life.
“But I couldn’t have continued to pay for it myself and I felt let down when I couldn’t get it through the NHS.
“I felt cheated. I think it’s terrible that you have to pay to save your own life after you have paid National Insurance your whole life.”
Diagnosed with cancer nearly two years ago, Mr Ditchfield found out about the drug when he was in Germany paying to have cybernife surgery, which is focused radiotherapy treatment.
Now living in Stonyhurst, Lancashire, Mr Ditchfield, whose family still live in Fazakerley and Aughton, in Ormskirk, has paid for himself to have the treatment twice.
He said: “The worst thing is being told you have cancer. But after that, you come to terms with what might happen.
“So when doctors told me there was nothing they could do for me, I didn’t believe them. I knew there were treatments out there.
“I did some research on the internet and found out about treatment I could get in Germany.
“It was while I was there that I was told about this drug, which is licensed in Europe but costs £3,000 in Germany and £3,600 here.
“When I returned, I applied to get it on the NHS but I got turned down in November, so I bought it myself and it worked.”
Mr Ditchfield, the director of DCL Interiors Ltd, in Clitheroe, who is married and an avid Liverpool FC fan, says since taking Nexavar in September, he has suffered no tumours.
And a recent scan showed he was progression-free. He said: “The cancer will progress eventually, but for now I feel fit and healthy and I have got a good quality of life.
“It’s 18 months since I was diagnosed and, without the treatment I have had abroad, I would have only had six months.”
Mr Ditchfield’s appeal against East Lancashire Primary Care Trust was heard on Thursday, and on Friday morning, the decision was faxed through to his office.
He said: “I was speechless. It was such a relief.
“I hope this means that it will be available for other people with the same condition. Not everybody is able to pay for it themselves as I have.”
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Google Entries
Just a selection of the Google entries regarding Keith Ditchfield:
Man's cancer drugs would be free in Yorkshire - Lancashire Evening ...Keith Ditchfield, from Stonyhurst, near Clitheroe, was told by East Lancashire PCT that they would not prescribe him the £3000-a-month drug Nexavar. ... www.lep.co.uk/news/Man39s-cancer-drugs-would-be.1868063.jp - 39k - Cached - Similar pages
Stories for 26 January 2007WHEN Keith Ditchfield was told he had a cancerous tumour on his right kidney his reaction was, unsurprisingly, one of utter devastation. more. ... archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2007/1/26/ - 116k - Cached - Similar pages
BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Cancer man feels 'cheated' by NHSKeith Ditchfield. Mr Ditchfield was diagnosed with renal cancer two years ago ... Keith Ditchfield, from Stonyhurst, Lancashire, travelled to Germany for ... news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/lancashire/6245033.stm - 36k - Cached - Similar pages
BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Cancer man feels 'cheated' by NHSKeith Ditchfield A cancer patient has said he feels cheated after the NHS ... Keith Ditchfield, from Stonyhurst, Lancashire, travelled to Germany for ... news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/lancashire/6245033.stm - 12k - Cached - Similar pages [ More results from news.bbc.co.uk ]
NIGEL EVANS /// MP for the Ribble ValleyNigel Evans, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley, has congratulated his constituent Keith Ditchfield on winning his appeal for the cancer drug ... www.nigelmp.com/record.jsp?type=news&ID=260 - 8k - Cached - Similar pages
Fighting Cancer but NHS Battle for Treatment is Won on All ScienceA Man called Keith Ditchfield who is a businessman from Liverpool is not ... We can happily say that Keith Ditchfield has won the fight with the NHS for ... www.allscience.co.uk/fighting-cancer-but-nhs-battle-for-treatment-is-won/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 08 Feb 2007 (pt 0006)My constituent, Mr. Keith Ditchfield, is having to spend thousands of pounds of his own money to get a drug called Nexaver. The drug has the backing of the ... www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070208/debtext/70208-0006.htm - 37k - Cached - Similar pages
Northwest Regional Development Agency -- China service siteKeith Ditchfield Tel: 01925 400190 Fax: 01925 800408 E-mail: [email protected]. Kim Riley Tel: 01925 400191 Fax: 01925 800408 ... www.nwda-china.org.uk/pUKTI.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages
Cancer Patient Wins Drug Appeal (from Lancashire Telegraph)Keith Ditchfield, 53, said his was speechless' when the result of an appeal to be given the drug were faxed to him this morning. ... www.lancashireeveningtelegraph.co.uk/display.var.1215618.0.cancer_patient_wins_drug_appeal.php - 36k - Cached - Similar pages
DCL Interiors Ltd - Clitheroe - Building Refurbishment and ...Contact, Mr Keith Ditchfield. Address, Unit 6/Shawbridge Sawmill Shaw Bridge Street Clitheroe Lancashire North West BB7 1LY (MAP). Telephone, 01200 422007 ... www.build.co.uk/company_411940.htm - 37k - Cached - Similar pages
Comments
I did not know Keith Ditchfield but I have read much about him and his corageous battle against this pernicious and clearly underfunded disease. That he tirelessly worked to ensure others were considered is indisputable and the results he achieved in raising awareness of Kidney Cancer and what he saw to be the unfairness of the system that delivers clinically required drugs on a post code basis features in many articles about him.
He comes across as a brave man who gained the support of the media, his MP Nigel Evans and others but felt himself to have been betrayed by the system and by the NHS he had funded through taxation all his life.
Keith will be remembered by people like me who realised and applauded the efforts he made for others facing these Challenges. My thoughts are with those this brave and sincere man leaves behind who will sorely miss him. User: Greg L-W.
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