5,000 signatures reached
To: Rt Hon Prime Minister David Cameron MP
#KEEPYOURPROMISE
Keep your promise to cancer patients made at the last election that “.. if your doctor thinks that you should have a cancer drug that will help you to live a longer and better life you should get that drug.”
We urge the Prime Minister to intervene and halt the removal of 25 cancer treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund which comes into effect on the 13 March 2015.
We urge the Prime Minister to intervene and halt the removal of 25 cancer treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund which comes into effect on the 13 March 2015.
Why is this important?
The Prime Minister made a personal promise to cancer patients at the last election that they would be able to access the treatments their doctors recommended. In response, the Cancer Drugs Fund was introduced in 2010 to ensure cancer patients in England were able to access new, innovative treatments that weren't currently available on the NHS.
This was an enormous step forward for thousands of patients with advanced or rare cancers, giving them access to treatments that enhanced their quality of life and gave them precious extra time with their families.
Yet, from March 13 2015 8,000 cancer patients will have this access to vital treatments cut off.
NHS England has recently announced that it will remove 25 treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund, with effect from March 2015, meaning nearly 8,000 cancer patients a year will be denied life-extending drugs condemning them to an early death and denying the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
These changes are a backward step in treatment for advanced cancer and rarer cancers. Doctors will be forced to tell their patients there are treatments that can prolong their lives but they will no longer be available.
The Government and drug companies must sit down and find a way to guarantee access to cancer treatments at a cost which is affordable to the NHS.
The NHS should be there when you need it the most and the Prime Minister should stand up for cancer patients.
This was an enormous step forward for thousands of patients with advanced or rare cancers, giving them access to treatments that enhanced their quality of life and gave them precious extra time with their families.
Yet, from March 13 2015 8,000 cancer patients will have this access to vital treatments cut off.
NHS England has recently announced that it will remove 25 treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund, with effect from March 2015, meaning nearly 8,000 cancer patients a year will be denied life-extending drugs condemning them to an early death and denying the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
These changes are a backward step in treatment for advanced cancer and rarer cancers. Doctors will be forced to tell their patients there are treatments that can prolong their lives but they will no longer be available.
The Government and drug companies must sit down and find a way to guarantee access to cancer treatments at a cost which is affordable to the NHS.
The NHS should be there when you need it the most and the Prime Minister should stand up for cancer patients.
