Associated Press (KC) 24-Oct-08
From Kidney Cancer Resource
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'Postcode lottery' for patient
A woman with advanced kidney cancer said she was the latest victim of a healthcare "postcode lottery" because her local health authority does not prescribe a potentially life-saving drug.
But if Jackie Barnes, from Yateley, Hampshire, lived two miles away in Berkshire or three miles away in Surrey, she could be prescribed the drug, known as Sutent or Sunitinib.
The 52-year-old former home support organiser for Age Concern said that she may only have six months to live without the drug which was recommended by her oncologist to help prolong her life.
She said that she had bilateral kidney cancer, meaning it had affected both kidneys and it had also spread to her lung.
The mother-of-two said she felt "disappointed and angry" particularly as she is cared for at the same clinic in Surrey where other patients are given the drug.
She said: "I attend St Luke's cancer unit in Guildford in Surrey and as I sat there waiting for my prescription, I have actually seen other people being given Sunitinib. I am pleased for them because they are getting it but I do not get it, so I am angry."
Mrs Barnes added: "It's plain that they have given me a death sentence. My oncologist has said that I am an ideal candidate for this drug but Hampshire Primary Care Trust does not even allow me to make an appeal."
She added that neither she nor her husband, John, could afford the drug as he was currently out of work awaiting a knee operation.
Between 2007/2008, seven out of eight patients who requested Sutent in west Berkshire were given the drug and in Surrey, 19 out of 29 people were prescribed it. However, in Hampshire, none of the seven patients who requested Sutent were given the drug.
Dr Martin Ashton-Key, area director of public health for Hampshire PCT, said they were not able to comment on individual cases.
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