The Stirrer Cancer Campaign

CHRISTMAS CANCER DRUG JOY FOR LORRAINE

22-12-2007

Black Country cancer victim Lorraine Knight has got the Christmas present she’s been dreaming of for months – a prescription for a revolutionary drug that could prolong her life by several months.

Lorraine was diagnosed with terminal liver and kidney cancer in July, but has been waiting since then to find out of she can have Sutent, a breakthrough treatment made by the American company Pfizer.

Although it can be legally prescribed in the UK, it still hasn’t been approved by NICE, the National Institute For Clinical Excellence, and so has become a classic example of the postcode lottery.

Patients with the appropriate cancers are routinely prescribed it in the North East of England, but in the West Midlands they have to go to an appeals panel.

In Lorraine’s case that process has taken five precious months, but yesterday she finally got the thumbs up from her local health trust, Sandwell PCT.

Her partner, John Lavender, was overjoyed at the news.  He said, “Lorraine’s over the moon about it.  We’ve been led a merry dance and Lorraine has to have another scan on December 27.

“Assuming that goes OK, we’ve been told she can have it.  It’s made our Christmas.”

 Lorraine’s story was first aired on this website (click link here), and then won the backing of Talksport radio presenter James Whale who offered her his support after reading about it in The Stirrer’s regular Thursday night Birmingham Mail column (http://tinyurl.com/24a4fq).