ALTHOUGH cancer is the UK's number one killer, vital treatments are being withheld because of cost claims a Mid Cheshire MP.
The tragic death of a Winsford woman just over a year after she was diagnosed with tumours in her brain and lungs may have been avoided if she'd been given new drug Tarceva.
That is the argument of the family of Nicola Penketh, who died in March, aged 30. The former Woodford Lodge High School pupil was denied the cancer fighting drug by High Peak and Derbyshire Dales Primary Care Trust due to lack of funds.
Grieving relatives have now established the Nicky Penketh Trust to help patients bridge funding gaps for drugs.
Speaking about the tragedy, Eddisbury MPStephenO'Brien,the Shadow Minister for Health, said: 'I am very concerned to hear about the circumstances and issues which have been raised about treatments being made available under the NHS as a result of the experiences they have been through.
'I shall continue, as Shadow Health Minister, to put maximum pressure on Patricia Hewitt and her Ministers in my efforts to get the Government's actions to match their words.
'I applaud the family for establishing the trust fund, however, at a time when the Government boasts of record spending on the NHS, it saddens me that this is necessary in the first place.'
Ms Penketh's stepfather Derek Shields said: 'The MP's interest is gratifying. As far as we are concerned there is nothing the Government can do but change the way things are done.
'What really concerns us is the fact that it seems these decisions are not made by people leading the clinical treatment but by committees.
'To us this is the wrong way to do things and what we really want is some way of providing the necessary funding. anthony.harvison@cheshirenews.co.uk
