Diss Express (KC) 06-Jun-08
From Kidney Cancer Resource
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Cancer patient David Blackett fury at NHS 'lottery' in supply of Sutent....
By Mark Tisshaw Cancer treatment on the National Health Service is a "postcode lottery," according to a south Norfolk sufferer. David Blackett, from Tasburgh, has been refused funding for treatment by the NHS Norfolk Primary Care Trust and is lobbying MPs to change the law because of inconsistent funding for the drug Sutent.
In a letter to South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, Mr Blackett highlighted the fact that the trust has denied him funding for the drug, even though those elsewhere will pay for it.
He also highlighted the wider issue of a funding shortfall for Sutent, the most effective life-extending drug for kidney cancer.
The letter was delivered to Mr Bacon by Mr Blackett's son James and four friends on Monday, after a 140-mile cycle ride to Westminster. Mr Bacon, who passed the letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said: "Kidney cancer is the tenth most common cancer among men, with 16 people each day learning that they have the disease."
Dr Bryan Heap, the medical director of NHS Norfolk, said Sutent, which is being reviewed by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, is not routinely funded for Mr Blackett's condition.
He said: "NHS Norfolk has reviewed the available evidence with regard to Sutent. We know it brings a small, but relevant, clinical benefit but our estimate of its cost-effectiveness has meant that we do not make it routinely available."
Mr Blackett's son and his friends' sponsored cycle ride from Tasburgh to Westminster was to highlight the plight of kidney cancer sufferers and to raise money for the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer.
Former TalkSport presenter James Whale, who fronts the organisation and lost a kidney to cancer in 2000, said: "What James has done for his father is fantastic.
"I can't believe in this day and age that sons, daughters, husbands and wives have to go to these extremes to get fair and proper treatment for their sick loved ones."
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