Grandfather’s fight to raise money for cancer drug

David Procter tells Emma GraftonWilliams how a wonder cancer drug he hopes to fund himself may be his only hope of seeing his granddaughter finish junior school

Four months ago David Procter visited the doctor with a dry, raspy cough and was told he had asthma.

Refusing to believe the diagnosis, the 61-year-old booked another appointment and was sent for blood tests.

Just a few weeks later he was given the devastating news he had lung cancer and might not live to see this Christmas.

“I’ve never had an accident in the car and I smashed into the gate post when I drove home,” he said.

“I was so shocked – just stunned and angry.

“I was thinking ‘Why me?’ How long have I got? Can it be cured? What have I got to go through?’.”

David, of Ingoldsby Road, Canterbury, is a full-time carer for his disabled wife Josephine, who suffers from Crohn’s disease.

“My initial thought was ‘what the hell is she going to do without me?,” he said. “All these things start mulling around – what happens when and what happens if?”

The diagnosis also came as bolt from the blue for Josephine.

“I thought we were going to grow old together,” she said. “We’ve been married over 40 years. I had a damn good cry in private.”

Determined not to give up the fight, David hopes to raise between £60,000 and £100,000 to fund a wonder cancer drug called nivolumab, which is not readily available on the NHS.

The drug, a form of immunotherapy which harnesses the immune system to attack the cancer, has been proven to extend the life of some patients.

Success has been seen in those diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, with the drug not designed to treat those with small cell lung cancer - like David.

But he says he is determined to give it a try in the hope of extending his life.

Without it, he adds, he might not live to see his only grandchild finish junior school.

“This drug may not be suitable for me, but even if it fails, if it can help somebody else not to have to go through this then surely that’s the legacy,” said David, who has secondary cancers in his neck and at the back of his tongue.

“If this chemo works then fair play I’ll say ‘thank you very much’, but if this doesn’t work then why the hell am I putting myself through it?”

“I know my brain is beginning to get a bit fuddled. It seems to be getting worse and that’s what I’m worrying about.

“If there is another way I could get rid of this terror I would take it. Fear of the unknown is a terrible thing, I want to live.”

Professor Carole Longson is a director at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which recommends drugs for use by the NHS.

It is currently evaluating the effectiveness of nivolumab at

‘Fear of the unknown is a terrible thing, I want to live’

treating various types of cancer, with varying degrees of success.

“Nivolumab appears to be more effective in certain lung cancer patients,” Prof Longson said.

“However, we do not have the full picture yet and we need more evidence to find out the extent of this benefit.

“If the company puts forward a Cancer Drug Fund proposal, nivolumab could be made available to some patients with lung cancer while more evidence is gathered on its value.”

Until Nice issues its final guidance on a drug, decisions about whether to fund a treatment are made by local health authorities.

To help David with his fundraising visit www.justgiving. com/crowdfunding/davidprocter.

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Picture: Tony Flashman FM4639495 David Proctor, who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer