Peter Milne begins life saving treatment this week
PETER Milne will start his treatment tomorrow ( Wednesday) after a campaign to get Nivolumab for him was successful.
Minister Simon Harris confirmed last week that Mr. Milne would get the drug to stop his cancer spreading from his kidneys. In July, the Government announced that it had resolved a dispute with the HSE over funding and it would start providing Nivolumab by September. But the cancer charity fundraiser was left waiting, and with the help of an online petition, local media, TDs and MEPs, Peter will start treatment this week.
“Thanks to you all, our campaign to get Nivolumab for me has been successful and my treatment starts on Wednesday. This is the best news for me and for many others in the same situation and could only have happened with your support,” said Mr. Milne.
“Bernie and I would like to say a big thank you to all who have helped. Thanks to all 3,800 of you who signed the petition and a special thanks to the person or persons unknown to us who started it! Some of the comments brought tears to my eye. Thank you too for writing hundreds of letters to politicians; there is no doubt it helped push our local TDs to be very active and vociferous in support. Above all thank you for the warmth and support for both of us. We have not been comfortable in the public eye, your support has kept us going, made life richer, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
“We feel humbled and priv- ileged to be part of this community who have supported us so well through this time. Thank you!
“I’d like to say a special thanks to Sheila, Dolores, Patricia and Michelle, to all four of our TDs who worked on our behalf, MEP Marian Harkin, to Sorcha at the Sligo Champion, to the media who took an interest locally and nationally and helped us get the story out. A special thanks to Claire Brennan our media guru.
“Thanks to the many people in the Department of Health and at Bristol Myers Squibb (the manufacturer), including all those behind the scenes, who worked to make this possible, and of course, thank you to my doctors and all at St Vincent’s hospital.”