cancer drug turned down by NHS for cost

[Ellie F]

Hi
Checking in to just add how dismayed we are here in England that another cancer drug has been turned down by the bean counters! This happened with lapatinib and others! At present some of these 'new' drugs can be prescribed by a cancer drug fund set up by the current government. HOWEVER this is due to end in 2016 and raises lots of moral and ethical issues.
I would also like to stress how dismayed the breast oncologists are about this decision. They often spend hours writing responses about why drugs should be made available only to receive a negative reply and then have limited options to treat the patients in greatest need.
As Lani has intimated there is no easy answer to the funding issue BUT after 2016 there definitely needs to be provision in place so that the newer cancer drugs can still be made available!
Sorry for going on but time after time this same issues arises and the response is always the same
Ellie