NHS won't pay £3,000 for drug to save my life
A trainee teacher has launched a legal fight against health bosses who are refusing to pay for her life-saving cancer therapy. Philippa Bigham, 28, has two years to live unless she gets a pioneering cancer drug which finds and destroys diseased cells. Surrey Primary Care Trust refuses to fund the £3,000 treatment, which costs less than it does on average to treat a patient in accident and emergency. Surrey NHS managers ruled that Ms Bigham, from Frimley, is not an "exceptional" case - even though she has a rare form of blood cancer, primary refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma, which does not respond to conventional chemotherapy. Her medical team at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead warned she needed the drug Basiliximab - or CHT-25 - before she could have a bone marrow transplant. Next week her lawyers go to the High Court in a bid to force Surrey PCT to reconsider. Some trusts are already paying for the drug, which is licensed for renal transplants but still on trial for other uses. Ms Bigham, a graduate of Sussex University, today said the decision to deny her CHT-25 was "an insult". She said: "The PCT managers are effectively telling me my life is not worth £3,000. Having to fight cancer is tough enough. "Having to fight your own NHS trust for treatment which other people have already had is appalling. Why should I miss out just because I live in the wrong part of the country? "They just told me I wasn't exceptional - I think most people would disagree. It costs between £1,500 and £2,000 to treat someone who turns up drunk at A&E yet I'm being told they can't fund my treatment." Her parents Wendy and Robert agreed to pay the £3,000 - but have run out of money after also paying £13,000 for treatment in a lead-lined room at the Royal Free, which Surrey PCT also refused to fund. Ms Bigham, an only child, said: "My parents are not wealthy but they've spent everything they can on my treatment. It's tough for me and heartbreaking for them." Doctors diagnosed Ms Bigham in November 2006, soon after she started studying for a PGCE to be a secondary school English teacher. She underwent six courses of chemotherapy before Dr Christopher McNamara, her consultant at the Royal Free, unsuccessfully recommended her for CHT-25. Surrey PCT rejected an appeal in March - even though at least four trusts, Lincolnshire, Lanarkshire, North Yorkshire and York, fund the drug. A bone marrow donor has been identified but the transplant cannot go ahead without the drug treatment. Surrey PCT said it appreciated Ms Bigham's appeal was "stressful" and "hugely disappointing" for her. It said: "All decisions on funding for high-cost treatments are made according to each patient's needs. "Individual funding decisions are not made on financial grounds. Funding for unlicensed drugs is fully considered on individual clinical need." http://tinyurl.com/lhp2fq How much is it going to cost Surray PCT to go to the high court to avoid having to spend £3000 to give this poor woman a fighting chance?
A trainee teacher has launched a legal fight against health bosses who are refusing to pay for her life-saving cancer therapy. Philippa Bigham, 28, has two years to live unless she gets a pioneering cancer drug which finds and destroys diseased cells. Surrey Primary Care Trust refuses to fund the £3,000 treatment, which costs less than it does on average to treat a patient in accident and emergency. Surrey NHS managers ruled that Ms Bigham, from Frimley, is not an "exceptional" case - even though she has a rare form of blood cancer, primary refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma, which does not respond to conventional chemotherapy. Her medical team at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead warned she needed the drug Basiliximab - or CHT-25 - before she could have a bone marrow transplant. Next week her lawyers go to the High Court in a bid to force Surrey PCT to reconsider. Some trusts are already paying for the drug, which is licensed for renal transplants but still on trial for other uses. Ms Bigham, a graduate of Sussex University, today said the decision to deny her CHT-25 was "an insult". She said: "The PCT managers are effectively telling me my life is not worth £3,000. Having to fight cancer is tough enough. "Having to fight your own NHS trust for treatment which other people have already had is appalling. Why should I miss out just because I live in the wrong part of the country? "They just told me I wasn't exceptional - I think most people would disagree. It costs between £1,500 and £2,000 to treat someone who turns up drunk at A&E yet I'm being told they can't fund my treatment." Her parents Wendy and Robert agreed to pay the £3,000 - but have run out of money after also paying £13,000 for treatment in a lead-lined room at the Royal Free, which Surrey PCT also refused to fund. Ms Bigham, an only child, said: "My parents are not wealthy but they've spent everything they can on my treatment. It's tough for me and heartbreaking for them." Doctors diagnosed Ms Bigham in November 2006, soon after she started studying for a PGCE to be a secondary school English teacher. She underwent six courses of chemotherapy before Dr Christopher McNamara, her consultant at the Royal Free, unsuccessfully recommended her for CHT-25. Surrey PCT rejected an appeal in March - even though at least four trusts, Lincolnshire, Lanarkshire, North Yorkshire and York, fund the drug. A bone marrow donor has been identified but the transplant cannot go ahead without the drug treatment. Surrey PCT said it appreciated Ms Bigham's appeal was "stressful" and "hugely disappointing" for her. It said: "All decisions on funding for high-cost treatments are made according to each patient's needs. "Individual funding decisions are not made on financial grounds. Funding for unlicensed drugs is fully considered on individual clinical need." http://tinyurl.com/lhp2fq How much is it going to cost Surray PCT to go to the high court to avoid having to spend £3000 to give this poor woman a fighting chance?