Lung Cancer: Cost vs Prognosis
Lung cancer is one of this country's biggest killers.
Estimates from Cancer Research UK suggest that around 33,500 people a year die from the disease.
Over 37,000 are annually diagnosed with lung cancer, and, last year, Jimmy Jenkyns became part of this statistic.
Jimmy Jenkyns
Jimmy was diagnosed with the non-small cell form of lung cancer last April.
Patients who suffer from this form of lung cancer and who have already had at least one failed course of chemotherapy have in some cases been found to benefit from a licensed drug called Tarceva
Tarceva is available on the NHS in Scotland, but in England and Wales NICE have refused to recommend the drug for funding. It is now up to individual Primary Care Trusts to review individual cases.
Jimmy has so far lost two appeals against his PCT for the funding of Tarceva. He took the decision to self-fund Tarceva three months ago.
Here Jimmy and his wife Deanne discuss the disease and the impact of Tarceva on their lives:
Often the prognosis for people suffering from lung cancer is very short. Whilst Tarceva can sustain some patients with the non-small cell form of the disease, the drug costs several thousands of pounds for a 3 month cycle, and will typically prolong the life of the patient for months rather than years. Statistics from Imperial College London put the yearly cost of Tarceva at £65,000.
Liberal Democrat MP Sandra Gidley says funding such a treatment can be an agonising decision:
Jimmy and his wife Deanne hope recent tests that have highlighted an improvement in Jimmy's condition after Tarceva could lead to them being given the drug by their local PCT.