Telegraph (KC) 04-Jul-08
From Kidney Cancer Resource
To Go To Telegraph (KC)
NHS panel ordered to reconsider cancer drug decision for carer
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
A judge has ordered an NHS panel to reconsider its decision to refuse a powerful cancer drug to a woman who is the sole carer of her seriously ill husband.
Jean Murphy, 63, from Manchester, took her case to the High Court after Salford Primary Care Trust refused exceptional funding for an experimental drug which doctors believe would give her extra months to live.
The drug sunitinib, known as Sutent, is being tested for use in kidney and stomach cancers, but is not yet widely available on the NHS.
Mrs Murphy was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year – and the disease has since spread in to her lungs and her lymph nodes.
Salford PCT said that it only provided the drug in "exceptional cases" and a funding panel judged that Mrs Murphy did not meet the guidelines.
Delivering his ruling, Mr Justice Burnett said he had found "error" with the way the review panel had conducted their assessment.
They had failed to consider the matter "in the round", including the fact that Mrs Murphy was responsible for the care of her husband, who has Crohn's disease, a chronic bowel condition, diabetes and psoriasis, the painful skin disease.
To view the original article Click Here
Disclaimer
Kidney Cancer Resource (KCR) is not influenced by sponsors. The information contained herein is not intended as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other licensed health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and information purposes only. Early accurate Diagnosis (Dx.) saves lives. Please check with a physician if you suspect you are ill, never ignore Symptoms. To help your health care specialist make an accurate Diagnosis please keep notes of dates, times and details of your Symptoms. We are not offering medical advice nor do we consider links, individuals or articles accessed through this site to be offering medical advice.
E&OE - Errors & Omissions Excepted
As much of the information posted on this Web Site for peoples convenience is of a medical or technical nature, and may be a matter of life or death the E&OE is a Disclaimer showing that to the best of our ability information is accurate and correctly written or transcribed. Before acting on information on this site you are responsible for checking it with your relevant medical team. We can not be held responsible for any Errors & Omissions made; nor for information on links and articles provided in good faith.
