Tarceva - lung cancer sufferer wins fight for drug
20/07/2006
Thank you very much for all your hard work, especially as the outcome is better than expected. Can't thank you enough.
Shana, Wiltshire
Paul Bould was this week granted a High Court injunction to be given lung cancer drug tarceva.
Sadly Paul died just days after winning his fight gain his Primary Care Trust (PCT).
Paul had been in hospital for the last week and was unable to breathe without the help of apparatus.
The drug had helped to stop coughing and made it easier for him to breathe.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2004 and had been on a privately-funded course of Tarceva for two months after it was prescribed by his doctor.
The High Court ruling meant Mr Bould would have received Tarceva funded by the Primary Care Trust (PCT) until a full judicial review could be heard.
Specialist clinical negligence solicitor Yogi Amin, representing Mr Bould said:
"Paul fought until the end. He took on this battle not just for himself but for many other people fighting for this and other drugs denied to them by their PCT."
The drug is currently being looked at by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and costs about £1,500 a month, slows down the progression of advanced lung cancer but cannot cure it.
In one clinical study, 31.2% of patients on Tarceva were alive one year after they started taking the drug, compared with 21.5% of patients taking a placebo.
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