Manchester Evening News (KC) 10-Dec-08
From Kidney Cancer Resource
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Grandad's cancer drug joy
Amanda Crook 8/12/2008
A CANCER patient has persuaded health bosses to pay for the controversial drug Sutent.
Robert Stebbing was diagnosed with kidney cancer three years ago. He has had surgery and chemotherapy but now doctors say the drug is his only hope.
Sutent, which costs £3,500 for a six-week treatment cycle, is not a cure but it can stop the disease spreading. It is not routinely funded on the NHS, with health bosses considering each request on its own merits.
The 66-year-old, from Northern Moor, near Wythenshawe, applied for the drug last month and has been given permission to get it after a special hearing.
Mr Stebbing, a retired product development manager for Mr Kipling who now looks after his disabled wife Vivien, said: "I can hardly believe it. I had been told the trust were unlikely to pay for treatment but I spoke to my wife and my children and they told me not to give up, so I decided to go for it.
"It is not right that anyone should have to fight for treatment. It is bad enough dealing with cancer but I would urge anyone else who finds themselves in my position to go for it.
"I know it doesn't work for everyone and it may not work for me, but everyone deserves a chance. I've fought for mine and it will give my whole family a great Christmas."
Mr Stebbing had surgery three years ago to remove the tumour and was cancer free for months, but the disease returned last year and he started chemotherapy in March.
The treatment started to make him sick and scans showed it wasn't working so he applied for Sutent.
Celebrate
He is planning to celebrate with his two daughters and a son, who lives in Australia but is currently visiting Manchester, and his six grandchildren.
The postcode lottery for Sutent in Greater Manchester was highlighted when the late broadcaster Tony Wilson was refused the drug on the NHS.
A Christie study showed Manchester turned down six out of seven requests for new cancer drugs in the past two years, but NHS bosses in Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Tameside and Rochdale approved all requests. Salford, Stockport and Wigan turn down at least a third of requests.
Prof Rajan Madhok, medical director at NHS Manchester, said: "Decisions about funding treatments that are not routinely available on the NHS are looked at on an individual basis by a panel involving local clinicians.
"The process considers the individual patient's case including any information provided by their doctor, along with the latest guidance and clinical evidence about how effective the treatment is likely to be.
"We understand the importance of these decisions to those affected and would like to wish Mr Stebbing well with his treatment."
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