Latest
news from the Sentinel and other sources on "Women Fighting for Herceptin"
Big names queuing up
30 Dec : Victoria Hall
All our money goes to Europe
30 Dec : Sir, - Because of our membership of the European Union we are
giving £7 billion to fund such projects as a motorway around Budapest, a
subway in Prague and a sewage system in Warsaw. Yet in our own country we
have women denied the drug Herceptin, hospitals getting rid of beds,
six-doctor surgery at Combs Ford, Suffolk will have to shut for a month,
and the 247 doctors in the Suffolk Primary Care Trust will not get paid in
March, all through lack of money. Mr Blair then agrees to give back part
of Mrs Thatcher's rebate costing British taxpayers £1.9 billion a year. Am
I missing something? SAJID MAHMOOD Milehouse, Newcastle
Now we've all got a chance at life
29 Dec : Breast cancer patients will be celebrating the New Year by
toasting a future they never thought they'd have. Members of the Women
Fighting For Herceptin campaign are looking forward to a healthier 2006
thanks to the success of a campaign for the potentially life-saving drug
Herceptin.
We'll help others to win life-saving cancer drug
29 Dec : Victorious North Staffordshire campaigners who fought to receive
a potentially life-saving cancer drug on the NHS are lending their
expertise to women across the country who are demanding it. When cancer
sufferer Ann Marie Rogers takes Swindon Primary Care Trust (PCT) to the
High Court in her bid to get Herceptin, she will not only be represented
by leading Potteries human rights lawyer Ian Wise, but will also be backed
by the North Staffordshire-based Women Fighting For Herceptin group.
Woman
makes Herceptin court bid
21 Dec: A woman with breast cancer has won the right to mount a High Court
challenge against her local NHS trust's refusal to give her the drug
Herceptin.
Karen gives the gift of life to cancer battlers
21 Dec : A Cancer patient who received a miracle drug on the NHS has
donated cash she raised to pay for her treatment to other women fighting
the disease. Mother-of-four Karen Manley, of Parton Grove, Weston Coyney,
met with members of the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign group to
hand over a cheque for more than £4,600.
Teen Herceptin helpers
19 Dec : Cancer campaigners say they feel "humbled" by the generosity of
two teenagers who organised a school fund-raiser which made more than
£1,500 for the Women Fighting For Herceptin. Youngsters from Maryhill High
School in Kidsgrove raised the money during a week of pink-themed
activities during Breast Cancer Awareness week.
With the city's regeneration, how is your work
keeping Stoke-on-Trent on the up?
17 Dec : Mark Meredith, right, elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said:
"Part of my work has been improving opportunities for young people in
education, leisure and employment.
I've been given the gift of life
17 Dec : Cancer patient Lynne Burton has been given the best Christmas
present she could have hoped for - life-saving treatment. Mrs Burton, aged
56, of Clayton, will receive Herceptin on the NHS after a battle to get
health bodies to prescribe the drug, which is not licensed for the
treatment of early-stage cancer.
Key dates along the way
16 Dec : May 17, 2005 The spectacular results of global trials of
Herceptin on early stage breast cancer patients are revealed. Experts
estimate the drug could save up to 20 primary breast cancer patients a
year. The catch is the drug is only licensed to treat advanced patients on
the NHS.
Good Deeds Of Help
15 Dec : A Charity fishing match in support of Jo-Anne Leese and the Women
Fighting For Herceptin campaign has raised more than £1,000. Members of
the Oval Golf Society and the Kidsgrove Anglers held the event at the
Kidsgrove and Macclesfield Canal last month.
Trust must see sense
15 Dec : Staffordshire Moorlands primary care trust has the chance today
to deliver a commonsense decision and approve the prescription of
Herceptin on the NHS for two breast cancer patients in its care. Morally
it is the only decision, for all the other PCTs in the area have now
accepted there is no reason why the drug should be denied patients any
longer.
Santa comes early with PCT decision
15 Dec : A Cancer victim is looking forward to Christmas - now she has
been told she can have the potentially life-saving treatment she needs on
the NHS. Rita Dale, aged 56-year-old of Blythe Bridge, received a
telephone call late yesterday from South Stoke Primary Care Trust, to tell
her that it would fund her treatment with Herceptin, the cancer drug which
can halve the risk of tumours returning.
Barbara's gift to drug fighting fund
15 Dec : One of the first women in the country to be granted an unlicensed
breast cancer drug on the NHS has donated £4,500 to patients in North
Staffordshire and South Cheshire. Barbara Clark was prescribed Herceptin
on the grounds that she is the sole carer for her terminally ill son. The
Somerset nurse threatened health bosses at her primary care trust (PCT)
with legal action if they continued to deny her treatment.
Cancer
patient waits on drug news
(Video link)
14 Dec: One of the few breast cancer patients in Staffordshire not
to have been given the potentially life-saving drug Herceptin is soon to
find out whether she will receive the treatment.
£40,000
raised for cancer treatment
(Video Link)
A Shropshire mother who is battling breast cancer is celebrating after
£40,000 was raised to pay for the drug Herceptin.
Evening Chronicle
New Drug Lifeline for Cancer Sufferer
3 Dec: A patient who sparked a
Parliamentary debate about a new cancer drug is set to receive the
treatment she has been fighting for.
Western Daily Press
Everyone must have access to
this drug
13 Dec : Breast cancer patient Gillian Sage was celebrating a victory
yesterday as West health chiefs agreed to fund her treatment with a
controversial life-saving drug.
Sentinel
Campaigners vow to help Rita
13 Dec : A Cash pot set up at the launch of the Women Fighting For
Herceptin campaign will be used to benefit all North Staffordshire cancer
patients. And the campaigners will come to the rescue if patients like
Rita Dale can't get Herceptin on the NHS.
No Christmas for mum paying to save her life
13 Dec : Christmas has been cancelled in one cancer patient's house
because every spare penny she has must go towards funding a potentially
life-saving treatment currently denied to her on the NHS. Rita Dale, of
Blythe Bridge, is facing a bill of up to £40,000 to pay for a year's
treatment with the drug Herceptin which her oncologist says she needs to
prevent the return of breast cancer.
I'm remortgaging my home for chance at life
12 Dec : A Breast cancer sufferer is waiting to find out if she will have
to remortgage her home and cash in her life's savings - to pay for the
treatment she needs to survive. Lorraine Brocklehurst, aged 46, will
receive her first infusion of the drug Herceptin on Friday, the treatment
she has been told she needs if she is to stand a good chance of preventing
tumours from returning.
The Big Pink Calendar (story link)
10 Dec: Women campaigning for the life-saving drug Herceptin are in
the 
pink after
posing for a charity calendar to raise money for their fighting fund. The
calendar, which is sale across North Staffordshire, features glossy
photographs of the breast cancer sufferers who have been fighting their
health authorities to get the wonder drug Herceptin on the NHS.
(Direct link where to buy the calendar)
When's it going to be my turn for Herceptin?
8 Dec : A Cancer patient who played a key role in the campaign to get the
life-saving drug Herceptin on the NHS, has still not been told if she will
be granted the treatment despite a neighbour being given the go-ahead
almost a month ago . Lynne Burton is one of only two of the original Women
Fighting For Herceptin campaigners who still do not know if they can get
the drug on prescription.
Key moments of the fight 4 Her campaign
8 Dec : May 16 A group of cancer patients band together to launch the
Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign. September 22 The women march on
London to hand in a petition signed by over 30,000 people from North
Staffordshire, calling for the drug to be made available on the NHS to all
women who need it.
Facing unhealthy balances
6 Dec : An Explosive cocktail of long-overdue pay rises for staff, soaring
numbers of emergency cases, the arrival of new high-cost drugs, and the
need to treat routine patients faster than ever, has blown North
Staffordshire's NHS budgets into pieces. The area is set to finish the
financial year more than £30 million in debt next April - despite the
Government pumping in unprecedented sums.
Ladies on the march await Herceptin ruling
5 Dec : Campaigners who went on the march to call for a revolutionary
cancer drug to be made available on the NHS will know if they have
succeeded next week. Women Fighting For Herceptin, backed by supporters,
held a rally in Leek on Saturday to protest against Staffordshire
Moorlands Primary Care Trust (PCT) - the only health authority in the area
which still doesn't fund the drug Herceptin for patients with early stage
breast cancer.
Panoramic view of cancer drug battle
3 Dec : The BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama has spent
three weeks filming the stories of the women fighting for Herceptin. A
camera crew spent time with the region's breast cancer sufferers who are
mounting a high pressure campaign to ensure the life-saving drug Herceptin
is prescribed on the NHS.
The calendar girls are pretty in pink
2 Dec : Women campaigning for the life-saving drug Herceptin are in the
pink after posing for a charity calendar to raise money for their fighting
fund. The calendar, which goes on sale across North Staffordshire next
week, features glossy photographs of the breast cancer sufferers who have
been fighting their health authorities to get the wonder drug Herceptin on
the NHS.
Trust hasn't got money for Herceptin
30 Nov : Officials running Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) have
yet to find the cash to pay for the wonder-drug Herceptin on the NHS. They
are reviewing their financial position after it was decided to give
Herceptin to Jo-anne Leese, of Alsager.
I could get Herceptin thanks to the Sentinel
29 Nov : A Great-grandmother battling breast cancer only found out about a
life-saving drug after reading about the Women Fighting for Herceptin
campaign. Joan Brodie, a 58-year-old from Bradeley, was diagnosed with
aggressive breast cancer in October 2004. She has had a mastectomy and
completed chemotherapy and radiotherapy in August.
Community heroes take a bow as our model citizens
29 Nov : Herceptin campaigner Dot Griffiths was voted Stoke-on-Trent and
North Staffordshire Citizen Of The Year at a glitzy awards ceremony
earlier this month. Laura Naylor speaks to the other community champions
who also received plaudits for achievements in their different fields
Congratulations to Dot Griffiths
28 Nov : Sir, - I would like to congratulate Dot Griffiths for her Citizen
of the Year award. She is worth this award for all the hard work she has
done, campaigning for Herceptin. She has done this non-stop, no matter
whether she felt ill. Now she has this award, someone should put her name
forward for an award in the Queen's Honours List. I have supported this
campaign since it first came into The Sentinel. The reports in The
Sentinel have been first class. Congratulations to all the reporters who
have covered this very important issue, a job well done. Dot, keep the
campaign going as long as your health allows you to do so. God bless you
all. D V PALMER Werrington
Drug came too late for mum
26 Nov : The daughter of a cancer patient says she believes her mother
would still be alive today - if she had been treated sooner with the drug
Herceptin. Lisa Nixon says she is "100 per cent" certain her mother Linda
would have beaten cancer if Herceptin had been used to treat the
44-year-old when the disease was in its early stages.
We are going on the march for Herceptin
24 Nov : Campaigners have vowed to march on Staffordshire Moorlands
Primary Care Trust - the only health authority in the region which is
still refusing to prescribe the life-saving cancer drug Herceptin on the
NHS. Yesterday's decision by Central Cheshire PCT to fund treatment for
breast cancer sufferer Jo-anne Leese, aged 31, of Alsager, means that
patients in the Moorlands are the only ones who are still not receiving
the drug, which has been hailed as the biggest breakthrough in cancer care
since the 1970s.
Great effort for Herceptin
24 Nov : Sir, - I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank
you to all those who supported and attended the recent Herceptin Charity
Auction and Disco at the King's Hall, Stoke. The event was a great
success. Once again, whenever the need arises, the people of
Stoke-on-Trent rally together and support a just cause. The event would
not have been possible without their generosity, kindness and hard work. I
just wish there was space here to thank individually all those who gave up
their time. I would, however, like to mention staff at the Civic Centre;
Rod Daniels, from Images in Hartshill; Gary from Prontaprint, Hanley, for
free posters; Craig, from Penkhull, for the free disco; Gwynneth, Brian,
Jackie, Bob, Sylvia and all the other helpers for their ceaseless
practical help and support. And a special thank you to Harold Starkey, who
gave a star performance as the auctioneer. Hopefully this hard work will
soon bring the result we are all looking for, and get our ladies who are
suffering from breast cancer their life-saving drug. BARBARA BEESTON
Hartshill.
Fifth
protester gets cancer drug
23 Nov: A mother has been told she will be refunded the £6,000 she
has spent on the breast cancer drug Herceptin. Jo-Anne Leese, from Alsager,
south Cheshire, paid for the treatment as she could not get it on the NHS.
Battle to prevent 999 merger wins global support
23 Nov : People from all over the globe are rallying round to stop
Staffordshire's world-class ambulance service being swallowed up by three
worse brigades to form a West Midlands regional trust. They have flooded a
message board set up on the service's website to voice fears that lives
will be put at risk in the county if the merger goes ahead.
Jo-anne gets the chance to see her family grow older
23 Nov : Breast cancer sufferer Jo-anne Leese has been told she can have
the drug which could save her life - and cash she has already spent
funding the treatment privately will be repaid. Jo-anne was at home in
Alsager with her one-year-old son Nathan when she got the news she has
been waiting months to hear - that Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust
will prescribe Herceptin.
My little angel showed maturity beyond her years
23 Nov : She may only be 10 years old but since her mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer, Hannah Waite has shown maturity beyond her years.
Hannah's mum Melanie has now won a five-month battle to get the
life-saving drug Herceptin on the NHS to treat her early stage cancer. She
was faced with having to pay the £40,000-a-year costs for the drug as
health bosses in her area originally said they would not fund the drug as
it does not have a licence.
Now
Carol needs Herceptin too
Nov 22: A single mother who has provided financial and moral support for
the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign now needs the drug herself after
being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Carol Davies has been backing the fight for Herceptin as a former work
colleague of campaign leader Dot Griffiths. But while the 40-year-old was
donating money and supporting the cause, she had no idea she would need
the drug herself, which can halve the risk of tumours returning.
Our Dot's a worthy winner
21 Nov : Cancer champion Dot Griffiths has been
named Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire's Citizen Of The Year. The
leader of the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign received a standing
ovation at what has become one of the most important nights in the local
calendar.
Night of champions
21 Nov : Herceptin campaigner Dot Griffiths has been voted Stoke-on-Trent
and North Staffordshire's Citizen Of The Year and was honoured alongside
13 fellow champions for their impact on community life.
Drug lifeline joy
for Jo-anne
19 Nov : Breast cancer sufferer Jo-anne Leese moved a huge step closer to
getting Herceptin on the NHS after experts told her health authority to
fund the cost of the treatment. Mother-of-one Jo-anne, 31, has been
battling for months to receive the revolutionary drug which her doctor has
told her could prevent cancerous tumours returning.
Brave mum's fight for the right to live
19 Nov : At A time when Jo-anne Leese should have been looking forward to
the birth of her first child, she became embroiled in a desperate fight
for life and the treatment which could save her. Jo-anne's world fell
apart when she was told she had breast cancer after discovering she was
pregnant with her first child. The 31-year-old was advised to have a
caesarean section when her son Nathan was 10 weeks premature because she
couldn't have chemotherapy until he was born.
MP fighting for Jo-anne
18 Nov : An MP has written to health bosses because a young mum has been
denied Herceptin on the NHS - even though it is available to women a few
miles down the road. Ann Winterton, pictured, has hit out at the
"ridiculous" post code lottery which means Jo-anne Leese, aged 31, of
Alsager, has been refused the breast cancer treatment which is freely
available in North Staffordshire. The Tory MP has written to Central
Cheshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) to demand it provides the drug.
I hope the NHS will keep me alive too
18 Nov : South Stoke has become the latest primary care trust in North
Staffordshire to fund a revolutionary cancer drug. Officials announced
yesterday that they have authorised a patient's treatment with Herceptin.
Fine campaign by the Sentinel
18 Nov : Sir, - Re women fighting for Herceptin. Congratulations, well
done, what a result. My wife Patricia and I have been closely following
your efforts on behalf of this just cause for many months and, after
reading just one of the many excellent articles written by Richard Ault,
contacted him to offer support. Richard put us in touch with Dorothy
Griffiths ... read more
My time is running out for Herceptin
17 Nov : A Cancer patient who has been told she needs to start treatment
with Herceptin by the end of this month is pleading with health bosses to
prescribe the drug. Herceptin is not licensed to treat early-stage breast
cancer, although clinical trials showed the drug halved the chances of the
disease spreading to other tissue in some women.
Drug lottery a total shambles
16 Nov : Sir, - Local health services should be provided within their
local communities. Primary Care Trusts were established with this
admirable objective in mind. In the Moorlands, and despite the
unquestioned professionalism of medical staff, the performance of our
local trust continues not to meet all of its performance ...
read more
Angela's birthday gifts of life
16 Nov : A Woman forfeited birthday presents in favour of donations in aid
of the Women Fighting For Herceptin appeal. Angela Caton celebrated her
53rd birthday with a Pink Party at St Mark's Church Hall, in Basford.
Medical experts in talks to decide Herceptin's
future
16 Nov : Medical experts are meeting to decide whether to advise primary
care trusts in Cheshire to prescribe Herceptin to breast cancer patients.
Rita has started the treatment but needs help
15 Nov : Stoke South PCT while Jo-anne prepares for her legal battle
High Court bid for herceptin
15 Nov : A Desperate cancer patient is preparing to take on her health
authority in a landmark legal battle for the revolutionary drug which
could save her life. Mum-of-one Jo-anne Leese, aged 31, could become the
first woman in the country to take the NHS to the High Court over its
refusal to fund treatment with Herceptin.
Two trusts drag their heels over cancer drug
15 Nov : Health officials at two primary care trusts have yet to budge
from their decision not to grant Herceptin to breast cancer patients.
Central Cheshire PCT and Staffordshire Moorlands PCT are still denying the
life-saving drug to women with early stage breast cancer.
Pay up now, Patricia
14 Nov : Oncologist Murray Brunt has stuck his neck above the parapet
repeatedly in his fight to get Herceptin prescribed on the NHS. He
believes in the efficacy of the drug, that it gives the best chance to
many of his patients. But what neither he nor the Women Fighting for
Herceptin ...
please read more
Herceptin fighters take battle to street
14 Nov : Herceptin campaigners staged a city centre protest as part of
their fight to get the miracle drug available on the NHS. More than 100
supporters joined the members of Women Fighting for Herceptin as they
marched through Hanley on Saturday to raise awareness of their campaign.
You're a bully Ms Hewitt
14 Nov : Health secretary Patricia Hewitt was today branded a bully who
should have given debt-ridden health authorities more cash to fund
Herceptin for women in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire.
How the fight for Herceptin exposed major flaws of
NHS
14 Nov : Herceptin. The name of the miracle cancer drug has become
synonymous with a group of women from the region and their fight to be
treated with it.
Welcome to Herceptin campaign's own dedicated stall
12 Nov : Shoppers at Stoke indoor market can now back the Women Fighting
For Herceptin campaign every time they pop in to buy their groceries. The
campaign now has its own dedicated stall, which has been set up by a group
of Stoke-on-Trent City councillors who may be rivals in the council
chamber but are united at the shop front.
City NHS gone bust says care campaign
12 Nov : A Review of all health services in Stoke-on-Trent has been
ordered - leading to possible care cuts - after its budgets were declared
bankrupt. NHS officials say the city is spending more that it is receiving
from the Government and it has to stop.
Eight still waiting for a chance to live
12 Nov : Eight breast cancer sufferers under the care of the University
Hospital of North Staffordshire are still being denied treatment with
Herceptin. North Stoke Primary Care Trust (PCT) has announced that all
eligible women who need the drug will get it on the NHS.
We'll keep on fighting...
11 Nov : "Four down, three to go".
Minister
in NI cancer drug move
11 Nov: Herceptin is already used for patients with advanced cancer.
The drug Herceptin is to be made available to women in Northern Ireland
suffering from early stage breast cancer, the government has announced.
Herceptin
- a diary
11 Nov: A group of Staffordshire women, most of whom have breast cancer,
are campaigning for a cancer treatment drug, Herceptin, to be made
available to those who need it, on the NHS. We've been helping log their
story week by week...
Plane
crazy waste of cash
11 Nov : Sir, - Gordon Brown returns from his aborted trip to Israel in
order to prop up Tony Blair's support for the 90-day detention clause for
suspected terrorists. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Brown should be
well placed to tell the taxpayer how much his return flight has cost; I
suspect the cost would pay for a year's supply of Herceptin for one, two,
three or more ladies from our area. MARTIN DREW Moss Hill Stoke-on-Trent
Women waiting on the boundary of survival
11 Nov : "I would be very upset if I had to leave Werrington," says cancer
sufferer Judie Evans. "I've lived there for 25 years."
Post code lottery
11 Nov : Three more breast cancer sufferers in Stoke-on-Trent and
Newcastle have been told they can have Herceptin - while women in the
Staffordshire Moorlands and Mid Cheshire are still denied the life-saving
drug.
Elaine's dancing for the joy of life
10 Nov : "Cut to the chase - are you going to give me Herceptin or not?"
Couple in the right market
10 Nov : Sir, - I would like, through your paper, to congratulate Alan and
Pauline Joynson on opening a stall on Stoke market on Fridays and
Saturdays. This is for the Herceptin appeal. This couple work very hard.
They are a devoted couple and are really concerned about the health of the
women who need Herceptin. They are devoted to this appeal and they and I
hope that this stall will be a success. Good luck. SALLY HALL Penkhull
Charity listings
10 Nov : A Charity fishing match in support of Jo-Anne Leese and the Women
Fighting For Herceptin campaign takes place this month. Members of the
Oval Golf Society and the Kidsgrove Anglers are holding the event at the
Kidsgrove and Macclesfield Canal on November 19.
New hope after cancer drug breakthrough
10 Nov : Certainly pave the way for a set of claims from other women in
similar circumstances." Elaine's oncologist Dr Murray Brunt, breast cancer
specialist at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, said: "I
think this has really upped the pressure on the PCTs to give Herceptin to
other women who need it. I don't think it is a given, but they all need it
and I hope the health authorities agree."
We're thrilled for her but will NHS save us?
10 Nov : Jubilant Women Fighting For Herceptin campaigners were
celebrating after hearing Elaine Barber could have the 'miracle' drug on
the NHS.
Breakfast
BBC TV - video link
(this will take you to the BBC
search page for Herceptin. On the righthand side you will see a
video link to Elaine Barber's interview)
A woman who said she was not prepared to "sit back and die" from breast
cancer has won her battle to be given Herceptin. Speaking to the BBC,
Elaine Barber said her treatment with the drug will begin on Friday.
Afternoon News ...
Woman
gets cancer drug in U-turn
9 Nov: Ms Barber said: 'human life should not be measured in pounds' A
mother-of-four from Staffordshire who lost an appeal to be given the
breast cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS will get the treatment paid for
after all.
U-Turn
Over Cancer Drug
9 Nov: A mother-of-four who was refused the cancer drug Herceptin said she
was "over the moon" after her local primary care trust changed its mind.
Elaine Barber, from Stoke-on-Trent, was told she will be given the drug
just one day after learning she would not receive it.
Morning News ...
How could the trust possibly refuse me?
9 Nov : Elaine Barber was told on Monday night that she will not be
treated with Herceptin on the NHS, the drug which could save her life. She
looks back over nearly a fortnight of worrying about the outcome of her
appeal to North Stoke PCT, which was ultimately dismissed
Government accused of shifting blame
9 Nov : Campaigners fighting to get a life-saving cancer drug on the NHS
have accused the Government of placing local health care managers in an
impossible position over the prescription of Herceptin. Health Secretary
Patricia Hewitt has demanded a meeting with health bosses from North Stoke
Primary Care Trust (PCT) after it refused to treat breast cancer patient
Elaine Barber with Herceptin. In a letter to Elaine the PCT said the drug
had been refused because "there is no published evidence currently to show
either long term safety or cost effectiveness."
Unstable foundations
9 Nov : Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt's intervention in the Elaine
Barber Herceptin appeal may grab headlines in the national media, but her
words are a diversion from the issue of inadequate funding of the NHS.
True ... read more
I'll give you a big hug, Elaine - your fight must go
on
9 Nov : Mum-of-four Elaine Barber, of Abbey Hulton, is suing the NHS after
her appeal to be prescribed the life-saving breast cancer drug Herceptin
was refused yesterday. Here, fellow breast cancer patient Barbara Clark,
of Somerset, talks about her successful fight for the drug
Hewitt
steps into cancer drug row
8 Nov:Ms Barber said she is being "left to die" The health secretary has
ordered a meeting with a primary care trust which will not provide a woman
suffering from breast cancer with the drug Herceptin ... read
more including BBC video clip.
Fighting
For Cancer Drug
8 Nov: A single mother suffering from breast cancer has been denied the
potentially life-saving drug Herceptin. Elaine Barber will now take her
case to the High Court in an attempt to force Stoke North Primary Care
Trust to rescind their decision.
Mum to sue for Herceptin
8 Nov : Within an hour, a courier had dropped off a letter of rejection
from the PCT. Signed by Mr Ridley, it said: "While there is evidence of
potential clinical effectiveness in the recently published trials, there
is no published evidence currently to show either long term safety or cost
effectiveness. Therefore, the view of the appeal panel is that Herceptin
should not be funded in this case."
An affront to decency
8 Nov : Shameful. Absolutely shameful. North Stoke Primary Care Trust's
(PCT) refusal to authorise the prescription of anti-breast cancer drug
Herceptin is an affront to common sense and decency. Herceptin has not yet
been officially approved for NHS use by the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence (Nice). The PCT clings to this justification like a
drowning man to a piece of driftwood. Let us recap: Herceptin is used in
France, Germany and Italy; ..... read more
MPs refuse to give up fight
8 Nov : North Staffordshire MPs remain confident breast cancer sufferers
in the region will get Herceptin, despite Elaine Barber's setback.
Newcastle MP Paul Farrelly said: "Since July we have managed to get the
drug fast-tracked. We have had plenty of success. Pressure at Westminster
has meant the Secretary of State will introduce automatic testing to see
whether breast cancer sufferers will benefit from the drug."
Women devastated after drug rejection
8 Nov : "We are devastated - all over again." That was the response last
night from breast cancer patient Melanie Waite as she was told Elaine
Barber's fight for Herceptin had failed.
Britain lags behind Mexico for cancer drug
7 Nov : The leader of the Herceptin campaign says she was embarrassed to
discover that Britain lags behind poor countries such as Mexico and
Slovenia when it comes to supplying a breakthrough drug for breast cancer.
Dot Griffiths discovered patients in these countries could get the drug
denied in the UK when she was invited to Paris for a conference called by
Europa Donna, the European breast cancer coalition.
Join our march and help us to save lives
7 Nov : Supporters of the campaign to get Herceptin on the NHS are being
rallied to take part in a huge protest march through Hanley on Saturday.
Give cancer victims Herceptin says Blair
5 Nov : Prime Minister Tony Blair has stepped up the pressure on North
Staffordshire and South Cheshire health officials to fund a life-saving
cancer drug. Speaking of the revolutionary drug Herceptin, Mr Blair said
primary care trusts (PCTs) should "go ahead and allow people to use it".
A question of life or money
4 Nov : The Government has told PCTs they cannot refuse to fund the
life-saving drug Herceptin because they haven't got the funds to pay for
it.
Minister says PCTs should pay for drug
4 Nov : A government health minister has told primary care trusts they are
wrong to refuse to fund a potentially life-saving drug to breast cancer
sufferers
Herceptin Westminster Debate -
Mark Fisher on prescription of Herceptin
To watch the Private Members Debate at Westminster Hall on 1st November,
at 9.28 am you will need to select
Archive
then
select
Westminster Hall,
insert the search terms
herceptin,
click the button
WestminsterLive search
and then select
watch.
This could help Herceptin fight
3 Nov : Sir, - With reference to the saga of the denying of the drug
Herceptin to these brave and desperate women. I can well understand the
reluctance of the health authorities to prescribe the drug before it is
approved by Nice, especially in today's compensation culture. However, as
this drug is now so very urgently needed by these women may I suggest ...
read more
Calendar girls count the days to Herceptin
3 Nov : Campaigners fighting to get the cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS
star in a series of photographs for a calendar in support of their cause.
Herceptin fight goes to high court
3 Nov : A Breast cancer patient from Stoke-on-Trent has launched a High
Court action to try to force health officials to give her Herceptin on the
NHS. Elaine Barber has lodged an application with the High Court for a
judicial review days after North Stoke Primary Care Trust delayed a
decision on whether she could have the life-saving drug on the NHS. The
trust will meet on Monday finally to decide whether single mother-of-four
Elaine, of Abbey Hulton, can have the drug.
Fury as Herceptin fight hits new snag
2 Nov : Campaigners are calling on the Government to provide enough cash
to cover the cost of wonder-drug Herceptin on the NHS.
The wrong decision
2 Nov : The assertion by Public Health Minister Caroline Flint that if
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) approve the prescription of Herceptin on the
NHS now, before it is authorised by the National Institute for Clinical
Excellence, they will have to fund it themselves is plain wrong. In the
short term this guidance unfairly puts the onus on PCTs when they have
already budgeted for the forthcoming year without making provision for a
drug which costs approximately £21,000 per patient per annum. If they wish
to approve Herceptin to save the lives of breast cancer sufferers, and
there is no .... read more
Herceptin fighters take campaign on the march
1 Nov : Campaigners fighting for a life-saving drug to be made available
on the NHS are to march through North Staffordshire to demand the
treatment for breast cancer patients.
It is a matter of life or death says MP Fisher
1 Nov : A North Staffordshire MP was today due to host a Parliamentary
debate demanding the Government speeds up the licensing of breast cancer
wonder-drug Herceptin as 'a matter of life or death'. Stoke-on-Trent
Central MP Mark Fisher was set to demand Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt
speeds up the official licensing of the treatment.
Disco's £1,000 target
1 Nov : Organisers behind a pink disco have set themselves a £1,000
fund-raising target for the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign. The
charity event has been arranged at Longton Working Men's Club for Friday.
It has been organised by Deb Kane and Ellen Shaw, whose sister-in-law
Elaine Davies, of Trentham, is a member of the Herceptin campaign group.
Private Members’ Debate on 1st November 2005 - Westminster Hall: Mark Fisher MP on prescription of Herceptin.
The boys are on the ball to help Jo-anne's
appeal
31 Oct : Kind-hearted footballers battled it out in a charity match
yesterday to help raise money for the Women Fighting For Herceptin
campaign. More than 100 people watched a team from Tree of Life health
food warehouse in Newcastle take on pharmaceutical company Enterprise in
aid of cancer patient Jo-anne Leese.
Waiting hell continues for Herceptin warrior Elaine
29 Oct : A Single mother has been told she must wait before finding out if
she can get the potentially life-saving Herceptin drug on the NHS. Breast
cancer sufferer Elaine Barber had spent a sleepless night on Thursday
waiting for news of her appeal to North Stoke Primary Care Trust for the
drug.
Health Service not national
29 Oct : Sir, - After reading of the furore surrounding Herceptin, and
upon hearing the meaningless drivel spouted by various people about why
the drug isn't prescribed for these poor ladies, one thing stood out. Our
so-called National Health Service is certainly not national. Indeed it
resembles, more and more, the often-quoted postcode lottery, where your
place of residence can dictate your treatment and, potentially, your
survival. While I appreciate and believe that there are many good and
caring people within the NHS, the people that pull the financial strings
are certainly less caring and compassionate, focusing only on their
monthly budgets. I say, "all for one and one for all". Herceptin should be
available to all that can benefit from its use. PETER CLARKE Trentham
Nasty is better word than nice
29 Oct : Sir, - The current postcode lottery concerning Herceptin is
causing worry to many breast cancer sufferers, when they should be getting
every help that is available to save their lives. They should not have
this extra worry on their minds. I was under the impression that, in
government, the health secretary is in charge of the health service, and
has the last word in all medical matters. After all, that is why she was
appointed. So, whey does she have to ask the Government's latest
invention, namely Nice, for permission? I think she is passing the buck,
like certain other Cabinet ministers in this Government. Nice has been
invented to be used as an excuse to stop providing drugs that are
expensive, even when such drugs save lives. They decided to call it Nice
because that word sounds good. I think Nasty is much more appropriate.
(National Association for Stopping Treatment to You). BETTY COWEN Draycott
I can't bear to wait any more to find out if I'll
live or die
28 Oct : Campaigners have slammed 'cruel and inhumane' health chiefs for
keeping a cancer victim waiting to find out if she will get a drug on the
NHS which could save her life. Single mum Elaine Barber is angry she was
not allowed to attend her appeal hearing against a decision not to grant
her the drug Herceptin by Stoke North Primary Care Trust.
Songs to save lives
28 Oct : The call for people to audition now may seem a little early given
that the first rehearsals won't be until January, and the concerts not
until February. However, organisers Michaleen Hilton and Andrew Talbot are
hoping, that with plenty of planning, this will be one of the biggest
musical theatre events ever to take place in the Potteries.
100% behind the campaign
27 Oct : Sir, - I agree with the letter in The Sentinel headlined Replace
Mayor with Herceptin. I am 100 per cent behind the people fighting for
this drug. I am joining the campaign now that I am back home. Murray
Brunt, cancer specialist, has requested Herceptin for Lynne Burton and
five others. In Somerset it was approved. Why has Mrs Burton been deprived
of this drug when Mr Brunt has prescribed this for her? I think once a
specialist has prescribed a drug his/ her orders should be carried out. I
hope this matter will be looked into seriously. SALLY HALL Penkhull
Cancer drug been made a priority - Letter from
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health.
27 Oct : Sir, - I want to thank your readers for writing to me calling for
Herceptin to be made available for women with early-stage breast cancer. I
have received thousands of letters from women across the country, many
with heart-rending stories about their experiences ...
read more
Herceptin frustration
27 Oct : Unsolicited, a letter arrives at The Sentinel from Patricia
Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Health, regarding the campaign to have
anti-breast cancer drug Herceptin prescribed on the NHS In it, the Health
Secretary says she shares the frustration of those who want the drug
widely available now. She'd like to do more, she says ...
read more
A quick route to treatment
27 Oct : Sir, - I see things in black and white. Also, my wife thinks I am
wicked. May I suggest if all the royal family and all the MPs' families
needed Herceptin, it would be approved of as fast as possible. If so -
yes, I am wicked. JEFF TUNNICLIFFE Meir Park
Others can get this drug so why can't I?
27 Oct : Jo-anne Leese is caught up in a bitter fight to win the chance to
receive a life-saving drug on the NHS. But in between the protest marches
to 10 Downing Street, petition gathering and fund-raising, Jo-anne and her
husband Sean are trying to live as normal a life as possible with their
one-year-old son Nathan.
How to pay at full speed
27 Oct : Sir, - The front page of The Sentinel, October 20, No cash for
Herceptin. I find this inconceivable because thousands of vehicle users
are quite willing to subscribe £60+ for Herceptin via the speed camera
fund. B ROWLEY Kidsgrove
The politician and the victim
27 Oct : A young mother-of-one has been told she will not be treated on
the NHS with a revolutionary cancer drug which could save her life - on
the day Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt insisted she had done all she
could to help women demanding Herceptin.
Speech by Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of
State for Health
25th October 2005: Breast Cancer Awareness Speech by Patricia Hewitt,
Secretary of State for Health, given at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Fly-in.
Hear
women prisoners supporting the campaign
Hear
Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt
Hear
Alison at Downing Street protest
Hear
Elaine Barbour - in London
BBC
Radio Stoke reports from the London demo
BBC
Radio Stoke's report from Stoke PCT
Hear
Lynn & Alex Potts talk about the campaign
Hear
Dot, Lynn, Mary and Alison
Hear
Sean Leese in interview
Hear
Dot Griffiths on national BBC
Hear
Dot Griffiths and Lynn Burton
D-Day as Elaine waits for treatment decision
26 Oct : A breast cancer sufferer will find out in the next 24 hours if
the NHS will provide the drug which could save her life.
Pulling together for herceptin campaign
26 Oct : Fitness fanatics got into a sweat raising more than £1,000 for
the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign.
No barrier to wonder drug says minister
26 Oct : The Government says there is "nothing stopping" health
authorities from prescribing Herceptin to breast cancer sufferers on the
NHS.
PCTs stay tight-lipped over budgets for cancer drug
25 Oct : Health authorities across North Staffordshire have refused to say
if they will be making any provision to fund a potentially life-saving
drug in their budgets. A number of women from the region have been told
they have a better chance of surviving breast cancer if they are treated
with Herceptin.
Auction's bid to help our ladies
25 Oct : Items ranging from a microlight flight to the chance to legally
prepare a last will and testament will be going under the hammer at an
auction in aid of the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign. Hartshill
councillor Barbara Beeston has organised the charity event, which is being
held at the Jubilee Hall, Stoke, on Thursday, November 10, starting at
8pm.
We pay price of privacy to fight for our lives
24 Oct : My Journey started just a few months ago with an article by
Sentinel Health Correspondent Dave Blackhurst in May 2005, reporting early
findings from Herceptin trials.
BBC - Herceptin
- a diary
A group of Staffordshire women, most of whom have breast cancer, are
campaigning for a cancer treatment drug, Herceptin, to be made available
to all those who need it, on the NHS. Mick Tucker logs the story of their
campaign week by week...
BBC - Nurse
begins Herceptin treatment
A former nurse, who won her battle to be prescribed Herceptin, has her
first treatment with the drug.
BBC - Cancer
woman sells house for drug
21 Oct: A cancer sufferer says she has been forced to sell her home to
fund treatment in India.
Two
articles just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Trastuzumab after Adjuvant Chemotherapy in
HER2-Positive Breast Cancer and
Trastuzumab plus Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Operable
HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
BBC - Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: Herceptin breakthrough. Lesley Levy is used to getting bad news. After developing breast cancer, she had a mastectomy earlier in 2005. After being contacted by the Politics Show for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, the Leeds North East PCT changed its mind and will now pay for her to receive the drug Herceptin. Read the article and listen to the interview.
What England's health authorities say about giving
the cancer wonder drug
22 Oct : Women in Devon and Cornwall have been told that Herceptin is
available immediately, after an announcement by the South West Peninsula
Strategic Health Authority......
Charity has to start at home
22 Oct : Sir, - In his letter headlined 'Patently obvious way to pay for
this cancer drug', Cllr J Lefroy of Newcastle Borough Council tries to
explain how Herceptin can be afforded over a 20-year period when I can
tell him in six words how this wonder drug can be paid for immediately
...
All women should join the fight
22 Oct : Sir, - I was overwhelmed when reading the diaries of the
Staffordshire ladies campaigning for the use of Herceptin and how Tony
Blair has said, "Herceptin will be available as swiftly as possible". I
wonder if he thought twice about spending our health money on the tsunami
appeal ..........
Help in the darkest hour
21 Oct : The achievements of both the Treetops and Douglas Macmillan
Hospices are of monumental credit to this region. Both do phenomenal work
for patients and families in their darkest hour ......
Postcode lottery is unfair and inhumane
21 Oct : Breast cancer patients fighting for their lives have asked: "Why
can't we get the drugs which could save us when women who live in other
parts of the country can?"
Don't leave my children without a mum
21 Oct : A cancer victim is hoping to be prescribed Herceptin to prevent
her children having to grow up without a mother - as she had to.
The spread of NHS cash gets thinner and thinner
21 Oct : Can you think of any better use for NHS money than to channel a
tiny fraction of those millions into a hospice for children suffering from
terminal illnesses? I certainly can't and if Tony Blair is serious about a
marriage between the NHS and private medical care, he could win new
support for his cause by releasing cash for the privately-funded
children's hospice called Treetops.
Cheaper seats for rail travellers
21 Oct : Parliament is sitting again. After weeks of working full time in
the constituency, I'm back to commuting and being in two places. Ministers
are now able to come to the House of Commons with statements.
Unhealthy diet of fudge
20 Oct : Fudge, fudge and yet more fudge. Fudge from Health Secretary
Patricia Hewitt, fudge from the North Staffordshire primary care trusts
and now an extra helping of fudge from the main man himself .......
Why
can't I have the breast drug now?
BBC Radio Five Live took
Alison to speak with Dr John Drake, Director of Medical Affairs at Roche.
Alison Poole interviews the people who have a say in the treatment she receives. Read the full article on the BBC Five Live website and listen to the interviews.
Cure NHS culture first
18 Oct : Ever since the Tories created the internal market in the late
1980s, there have been periodic upheavals within the NHS as its management
structure is reinvented. These convulsions usually follow a similar
pattern: election-seeking politicians announce reforms to bring NHS closer
to patients; many small trusts are created ... read more
We're having a ball to stop killer cancer
18 Oct : Cancer campaigners are planning a glamorous fund-raising ball in
aid of patients in desperate need of cash to pay for a life-saving drug.
Campaigner heads for London to confront Hewitt
18 Oct : Herceptin campaigner Alison Poole is heading to London hoping to
confront Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt over the Government's policy of
denying the life-saving drug to many women who need it.
£1m
for cancer lab tests
17 Oct: Breast cancer patients will find out faster if they have a deadly
form of the disease — thanks to a cash boost, Health Secretary Patricia
Hewitt said yesterday. Roche, which makes “magic bullet” drug Herceptin,
has promised more than £1million to train lab technicians to carry out
tests.....
read more
Replace mayor with Herceptin
17 Oct : Sir - What a sensible idea to get rid of the elected mayor and
pay for the drug Herceptin for these women, you know it makes sense. Don't
use the word sensible when you speak to anyone on the council, they don't
do sense. J ROYLE Weston Coyney
Hewitt's
hold up 'anguish'
15.10.05: Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has told of her anguish over
delays in getting the life-saving breast cancer drug Herceptin to
patients. read more ... The article also has a petition to complete for
Herceptin.
Minister's vow to drug campaigners
14 Oct : A Minister has promised to do what he can to help women trying to
get the potentially life-saving cancer drug Herceptin on appeal. Lord
Norman Warner, Minister of State for NHS Delivery, told the Women Fighting
For Herceptin he would speak to the Government's Cancer Czar Mike Richards
to ask him how the appeals system can be improved.
Women fight for Herceptin
14 Oct : A Breast cancer sufferer faces an agonising wait before finding
out if she can have the drug Herceptin on the NHS.
Patently obvious way to pay for this cancer drug
13 Oct : Sir, - I am full of admiration for Women Fighting for Herceptin
and your support for them. May I suggest something to the MPs (Now it's
down to you - October 6) when they pursue the matter with the Health
Secretary. The funding of Herceptin on the NHS for all women who require
it should not be a problem. The Government can take a 20- to 25-year view.
The reason for the cost of the drug ...
read more ... by CLLR JEREMY LEFROY
Westlands
Fresh hope for campaigners
13 Oct : A cancer patient believes medical evidence being published this
month could help her get a drug she has so far been denied on the NHS -
and open the floodgates for other women to get it too.
Forget war, help these women
13 Oct : Sir, - The war against Iraq is the worst mistake the Labour
movement has ever made. I suggest it diverts some of the billions that are
being spent on killing and maiming people there on developing and
supplying Herceptin to sick people instead of fobbing them off with
excuses. ROBERT W SHERRATT Brindley Ford
After our loss I'll back this cancer battle
12 Oct : When Margaret Woolridge heard the news her brother Tommy Cope had
died from stomach cancer, she greeted it with shock and sadness - but
mainly with painful resignation.
3-month test wait for cancer victims
12 Oct : Cancer patients in North Staffordshire are being forced to wait
up to three months for the results of vital tests.
Give sufferers hope not delay
12 Oct : Sir, - Anyone reading Mark Forster's very touching 'My View'
(Thursday, October 6) must support the 'Fight for Her' campaign. My
mother-in-law Pat died in April after a long battle with breast cancer.
Let's hear it for the girls
11 Oct : A Huge benefit concert is being staged in aid of Women Fighting
For Herceptin. Two hundred performers from across North Staffordshire and
South Cheshire are invited to take part in the concert at the Victoria
Hall in Hanley.
U.S. Herceptin results will boost British fight
11 Oct : Evidence due to be published in one of the world's most respected
medical journals could 'blow apart' all the arguments against prescribing
a breakthrough cancer drug on the NHS, campaigners claim. The New England
Medical Journal (NEMJ), based in the United States, is due to publish a
report assessing evidence regarding the use of Herceptin to treat early
stage breast cancer.
We're getting drug on NHS - so should you
10 Oct : Cancer patients receiving Herceptin on the NHS have written to
health officials in Stoke-on-Trent demanding they fund the drug to help
sufferers in this area. Jane Richards, who lives in Surrey, and Barbara
Clark, from Somerset, have thrown their support behind the North
Staffordshire-based Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign by demanding
primary care trusts in the region prescribe the drug to all women who need
it.
Dot is ready to rejoin the battle
8 Oct : The North Staffordshire leader of the Women Fighting For Herceptin
campaign is eager to rejoin the fight on the frontline after being
discharged from hospital. Dot Griffiths, a 58-year-old from Hartshill, was
taken into hospital two weeks ago with a serious infection, brought on by
a run-down immune system caused by the immense workload she had taken on
as leader of the campaign.
Drug company justifies cost of cancer drug
8 Oct : Drug makers Roche, the company behind the revolutionary cancer
treatment Herceptin, has taken steps to justify its expensive price tag.
Clinical trials of the drug have shown it can improve survival rates in
women with early-stage breast cancer by half.
Party politics left behind as MPs unite behind women
8 Oct : Local MPs have thrown their weight behind the Women Fighting For
Herceptin campaign. Party politics have been left behind as the MPs for
Newcastle, Congleton, Stoke South, North and Central, Stone and Cheadle,
Stafford and Uttoxeter all pledged to do their bit to speed up the process
for women with breast cancer to receive life-saving drug Herceptin.
BBC - Cancer drug testing 'shortfall' . Women will be tested to see if they could benefit from Herceptin The government has announced all women with early stage breast cancer are to be tested to see if they would benefit from the drug Herceptin. Read the news item and watch the video "What the changes will mean to women with breast cancer".
I'm waiting for a gift of life
7 Oct : A Cancer victim will find out in the next few days if she can be
treated with the wonderdrug Herceptin. Elaine Barber has been told by
specialists that she will die within 10 years unless she gets the
treatment.
Herceptin cost truly shocking
7 Oct : Sir, - I have been following the news on the breast cancer drug
Herceptin. I am amazed that such huge sums of money can be handed over to
drug companies just for one person's life-saving drugs ... read more
Mums slam no 10 for no-drug policy
7 Oct : Two Moorlands breast cancer patients who want a new wonder drug to
be issued to all sufferers immediately have hit out at the Government for
delaying its introduction.
Change for the worse
7 Oct :
Some two years ago I wrote to my MP, Charlotte Atkins, expressing concern
over the rather unhealthy state of the National Health Service under her
Government. I was particularly critical of New Labour's target culture,
which acts against the patient's best interests, and of its tendency to
spin statistics, in the hope of persuading people it does at least a half
reasonable job of running the NHS. Her predictable response was to quote a
bucket load of statistics concerning the amount of funding put into the
NHS, and to wax lyrical on how much better the service was under her
Government's administration .......... read more
BBC - Cancer
treatment 'fast-tracked'
The drug will be available for early-stage cancer
The cancer drug Herceptin will be fast-tracked for women in Scotland, the
Scottish Executive has confirmed.
BBC - Breast
cancer drug test: Your views.
What do you think of the government's decision to extend access to a
breast cancer drug?
It's a small price to pay to beat the cruel cancer
6 Oct : Sentinel journalist Mark Forster has been touched by cancer
personally and professionally
SOS call to MPs in fight for life
6 Oct : A Desperate plea for help has been issued to MPs in Staffordshire
and Cheshire from a group of women who need a cancer drug denied to them
on the NHS. The Women Fighting For Herceptin feel they have nowhere left
to turn for help in pressurising the Government to release funding and
approval of the revolutionary drug but their MPs.
Now it's down to you
6 Oct : Women fighting for a life-saving cancer drug to be made available
on the NHS are demanding their MPs put more pressure on the Government.
Members of Women Fighting for Herceptin want their 10 elected
representatives from Staffordshire and Cheshire to begin lobbying hard on
their behalf after protesters marched on Downing Street armed with a
petition signed by nearly 35,000 people. It follows yesterday's
announcement by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt that measures will be put
in place to enable early stage breast cancer patients to receive the drug
- a move which comes too late to help women who already have the illness.
Letters of concern... but is that enough?
6 Oct : Some MPs have already answered a call for help from the Women
Fighting For Herceptin.
Who will pay the price once drug is approved?
6 Oct : Health chiefs are bracing themselves for some difficult decisions
when the time comes to provide the cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS.
SOS call to MPs in fight for life
6 Oct : A desperate plea for help has been issued to MPs in Staffordshire
and Cheshire from a group of women who need a cancer drug denied to them
on the NHS.
Now it's down to you
6 Oct : Women fighting for a life-saving cancer drug to be made available
on the NHS are demanding their MPs put more pressure on the Government.
SKY
News -
New Cancer Drug Hopes
5 Oct: A former nurse's campaign has given thousands of women new hope in
their battle against breast cancer.
BBC
- Breast cancer drug test for all
5 Oct: The drug is already used for advanced cancer All women with early
stage breast cancer are to be tested to see if they could benefit from the
drug Herceptin, the government has announced.
New pressure on PCTs to fund drug
5 Oct : The number of patients being recommended by cancer specialists to
receive the life-saving drug Herceptin is set to rise.
GMTV - How to support the campaign for the life saving breast cancer drug Herceptin to be made available on the NHS
GMTV - Breast Cancer Web Chat inc. Herceptin
Putting money before lives
4 Oct : Sir, - Due to your excellent publicity campaign most people are
aware that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) is
delaying the approval of Herceptin. However, how many of your readers are
aware Nice has recommended that the only drug treatment available for
people with dementia should be withdrawn from the NHS because of cost? For
a mere £2.50 per day Nice is putting money before humanity and cost before
care. £2.50 is a small price to pay to help people retain their memory and
skills. You cannot put a price on memories and people affected by dementia
deserve better. The Action on Drugs Alliance has launched a campaign and
is collecting people's priceless memories to demonstrate their value. I
would urge your readers to sign up to this campaign. Visit
www.handsoffdementia drugs.org. DORIS
SIMS North Staffs Alzheimers Carers Support Group
Women need drug now
4 Oct : Sir, - It's about time all the people of Stoke-on-Trent got
together and made this stupid Government sit up and listen about the
appeal for Herceptin to be made available on the NHS for our women who are
suffering with cancer. This fight is not only for the unfortunate women
with cancer now, but for those who will have it in the future. If Mr
Blair's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, God forbid, I'm sure
Herceptin would be made available right away. If only someone could
arrange one big demonstration in the middle of Hanley with every man and
woman who cares about these women carrying banners in support of these
brave ladies, with the media behind them. The politicians come round
knocking on our doors for votes, so let us knock some sense into their
heads and get this drug available for these ladies, not next year but now.
H KELLY Birches Head
Now give us cancer wonder drug on NHS
4 Oct : Campaigners in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire have
welcomed a decision to grant cancer drug Herceptin to a fellow campaigner
in Somerset. Somerset Coast PCT agreed to prescribe Herceptin to Barbara
Clark on the grounds she is the sole carer for her son who has a
life-limiting illness. She must also sign a disclaimer as the drug is not
yet licensed for use on the NHS for primary stage breast cancer.
Sack mayor and save lives
4 Oct : Sir, - Why not get rid of the elected mayor, his car and his
associates and with all the money saved it would pay for four, maybe five
women to have the drug Herceptin. I know where I would prefer the money to
go and I think the people of Stoke-on-Trent would agree. J AUSTIN Birches
Head
Breakthrough
4 Oct : Campaigners fighting for Herceptin say they could be on the verge
of a major breakthrough after a fourth health authority agreed to
prescribe the life-saving breast cancer drug to a patient on the NHS.
Nurse wins breast cancer drug row
02 Oct: BBC Website - also
watch the two
videos
Barbara Clark explains why she battled for the drug
and
Watch Barbara Clark's reaction to the news
Breast Cancer Nurse wins drug case
02 Oct: News Telegraph
Breast Cancer Drug Win
02 Oct: Sky News
And just
where were the MPs?
3 Oct : Sir, - I am appalled at the lack of MPs at the women fighting for
Herceptin rally in London. What the devil do they think they are doing? I
would like to ask Mr Blair and his sidekicks what they would do if it were
their mother, daughter, sister or friend who were fighting for this drug?
Also, to the man who wrote in saying the Government is not to blame for
this appalling atrocity. So it's going to cost £2 million is it sir? Well
what about the war in Iraq? That was a waste of billions in taxpayers'
money, but that still went ahead. You have no idea what these women are
going through, so why write in such drivel to The Sentinel when they are
fighting so hard on all these ladies' behalf. I am 33 years old and have a
seven-year-old son. Without Herceptin I may not see him through school let
alone college. I am fortunate enough to be on a trial for the drug and I
am receiving Herceptin thrice weekly for a total of two years. Why should
I get the drug, which has been proven effective, when so many are going to
lose their battle before Blair manages to pick his pen up and sign the
NICE agreement? I really cannot understand the morals of this country
sometimes, I wish I had been born American, I am ashamed to be British. To
all at The Sentinel, I thank you, and applaud you for standing up for what
is right. NICHOLA CLAY Croxley Green
Find cause
of rise in cancer
1 Oct : Sir, - "How many more women must die", writes Richard Ault (The
Sentinel, September 29), referring to Herceptin, a drug that allegedly
prolongs life. I sympathise with all those suffering from cancer, and can
understand their frustration, but I wish there was an equally vociferous
campaign asking why so many people are suffering from cancer. At the turn
of the 20th century cancer was a medical rarity. Today, despite a hundred
years research - development of hi-tech diagnostic and screening devices;
countless new drugs - hundreds of cancer specialists and billions spent on
research they are no closer to a cure and have failed to halt the huge
increase in the disease. Why? Sadly researching the causes, or even
successful alternative therapies, is not as profitable as the production
of drugs. Treatments that may be promising medically but not economically
are rejected. A promising treatment for cervical cancer was rejected
because 'the short term commercial returns are not high enough'. Until
more resources are directed into researching, then eliminating the causes
of cancer, cases will continue to rise. GEMMA NICHOLS Brinsley
Cancer sufferer needs £40,000 for drug
Shropshire Star 1 Oct:
A Shropshire woman diagnosed with cancer just weeks after giving birth
today launched a bid to raise £40,000 to pay for a potentially life-saving
drug.
Stop drugs
for Africa scandal
1 Oct : Sir, - In answer to P Burton's question over which resources to
cut to pay for Herceptin, we should end the injustice of giving away our
money to pay for health care abroad, in particular Africa. The people of
this country should not be denied treatment while, at the same time, being
taxed to pay for drugs for Africa which, do not forget, is one of the
richest continents with vast deposits of gold, copper, oil, diamonds all
of which are hitting record prices on world markets. The criticism of drug
companies shows an unrealistic view of who pays the full cost of the
treatments and where those profits go. British drug companies give tens of
millions of pounds worth of free drugs to the Third World and supply much
more at huge discounts. Some African countries are asked to pay only 10
per cent of the cost. And how does that charity get repaid? Many of the
donated drugs are sent back to Europe and are sold at the full price
netting cash for African dealers and robbing drug companies of legitimate
sales in Europe. I also ask your readers to think about how many of
today's treatments, including Herceptin, would even exist if drug
companies had had price limits imposed on them, and how many new drugs
would be developed. It costs about £700 million pounds to bring a drug to
market. I say that this is profit being well spent for the benefit of the
whole of society. To deny just profits to drug companies is to deny the
chance of life for future generations. Another portion of the profits go
to pay dividends to shareholders which means to pension funds which means
to the majority of us. Pension funds have already been hit by Chancellor
Brown's stealth taxes. Any government that can withhold treatment from the
people who paid the taxes and give away our money to corrupt regimes must
not care a fig for the working people of this country. I do. NAME AND
ADDRESS SUPPLIED
Would PM's
wife have to suffer?
1 Oct : Sir, - I write to congratulate The Sentinel on its coverage of
local women suffering from breast cancer and their campaign to receive the
drug Herceptin. Whilst appreciating that new drugs have to go through a
series of procedures, it would be a tragedy if money and bureaucracy were
the real issue. Of course, perhaps the drugs companies themselves could do
their bit, and be negotiable on the price. The National Health Service is
a fundamental pillar of our civilised democracy, 'from cradle to grave'.
And we can always find the odd billion or three to fund our overseas
ventures in Iraq or wherever. I wonder if Cherie Blair was in need of this
drug whether she'd be able to get it? It is important to remember that
breast cancer is not merely a 'cosmetic' issue. It is one of the biggest
killers of women in the country. And unlike most victims of other killers,
these are often younger women, still bringing up their children. For some
women, as The Sentinel has reported, the right medication can mean a new
lease of life - and the chance of spending valuable, quality time with
loved ones. BARBARA BEESTON Independent councillor Penkhull & Hartshill
See Archive News for news from September to July 2005
