Calls To Continue Pancreatic Drug Funding

It can extend a sufferers life by months and even years but funding for it will be stopped soon.

Published 17th Sep 2015

A Scunthorpe woman who lost her husband to pancreatic cancer says it's wrong a life-extending drug will no longer be available for sufferers.

Abraxane is currently the only available drug for sufferers and can extend a person's life by months and in some cases even years.

It's not routinely offered on the NHS but can be given to patients if a doctor requests it.

But from 4 November, it won't be available to pancreatic cancer sufferers at all as NHS England stops its funding altogether and removes it from its Cancer Drugs Fund list.

Just yesterday, NICE - which recommends which medicines should be NHS funded - also turned down renewed calls to provide the drug.

It wasn't around when Maggie's husband, Kevin, passed away in 2009 but she says it would have made a big difference if it were. She's now launched a campaign calling on the government to continue funding the drug. The online petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/don-t-stop-funding-only-drug-for-pancreatic-cancer#petition-letter

Listen to our full interview with Maggie below: