Telegraph (KC) 24-Jun-08
From Kidney Cancer Resource
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Cancer sufferer killed himself the day after NHS denied new drug
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
A cancer sufferer killed himself the day after he was denied a new drug on the NHS. Albert Baxter, 75, was terminally ill with kidney cancer and was told by his primary care trust that the NHS would not pay for the new drug Sutent.
Trials of the drug have shown it can reduce the size of tumours by around 40 per cent and may have extended his life but it has not yet been approved by the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence which means local health bosses are left to decide whether to fund it.
The day after Mr Baxter, from Eastbourne in East Sussex, learned he had been refused the drug he was found dead by his partner with a bin liner over his head, a coroner's court was told.
Article continuesadvertisement Music promoter Tony Wilson, who is famed for discovering the Happy Mondays and New Order, suffered from kidney cancer and took the drug after his wealthy showbusiness friends stumped up the cash.
Around the country different primary care trusts are paying for the drug and doctors have to request funding for each case based on whether their circumstances are exceptional.
Lawyers have condemned the situation as unlawful.
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