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The Northern Echo
19 February 2007

A cancer patient who faces a £14,000 bill for the only drug that could prolong her life has asked Tony Blair to help her get it on the NHS.

Mother-of-three Kathleen Devonport, 63, from Chilton, County Durham, has been battling kidney cancer for seven years and will almost certainly die without a new drug called Sutent, which is not available on the NHS.

But Mrs Devonport has been told by her primary care trust that the only way to get the drug is privately - at up to £14,000 for a six-month course.

Last night, her husband of 42 years, Ray, said: "Her specialist told us that the drug she has been on, Interferon, no longer works.

"The only thing that would keep her alive is a new drug called Sutent. The trouble is, you can't get it on the NHS and it costs more than £2,000 a month if you go private."

Mrs Devonport, who has six grandchildren, has been referred to a private consultant and the couple are waiting for an appointment.

But Mr Devonport, 65, is angry that the couple may have to resort to spending their savings on a drug, which is now widely available in the US and much of Europe.

He said: "We are both pensioners and live in Tony Blair's constituency. Having worked all our lives and paid all our taxes and insurance, just to be told you have to die Kathleen - because Mr Blair or the NHS will not provide money for the drug to be given - is very hard."

The Prime Minister has dashed any immediate hopes for the couple.

Mr Blair told The Northern Echo: "We fully understand the worries of individual parties, but it is important that the NHS is guided by experts.

"That's why we set up the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) to advise the NHS on what drugs it should use.

"Sutent has recently been licensed for use as a second-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma. But Nice has not yet completed its appraisal of the drug. Until that happens, it's up to local primary care trusts to decide whether to prescribe the drug."

Trials of Sutent have shown that about 40 per cent of kidney cancer sufferers who had not improved with standard treatment responded to the drug. While it cannot cure advanced kidney cancer, it is claimed it can increase life expectancy by up to two years.

Manufacturer Pfizer said only about 50 people had been given the drug in the UK since it was licensed last August.
Dr Tricia Cresswell, acting director of public health for County Durham Primary Care Trust, said the North-East and Cumbria Cancer Drug Approvals Group had dealt with requests for the use of Sutent.

The group found that there was no firm evidence there would be an increased survival rate compared with the standard palliative treatment.

Dr Cresswell said: "We acknowledge individuals and families may question the decisions that are taken, but the group has to make these decisions based on the evidence which is available.

"The PCT does have a process in place to consider exceptional individual clinical circumstances."