Make cancer treatment free at the point of use, urges MP
HALTON MP Derek Twigg has called on a drug company to provide a treatment that can prolong life for patients with incurable breast cancer for free.
Writing online, Mr Twigg said he supports the Time For Trodelvy petition, which has urged pharmaceuticals firm Gilead to make it free until a decision is made over its routine use via the NHS.
Mr Twigg said 112 Halton residents develop breast cancer each year, which is higher than the average rate for England, and that 22 patients die each year on average in the borough from the condition.
The Labour MP for Halton added he welcomed the recent opening of the Breast Cancer Care Centre and pre-treatment unit at Halton Hospital, as he called for wider early screening including for lung cancer, which he said had a rate of about 107.8 cases per 100,000 people per year in 2014-16, compared to 78.6 per 100,000 for England as a whole.
This equates to Halton’s rate being 37% higher than average.
Mr Twigg said he has secured a debate on lung cancer in parliament and met with AstraZeneca to discuss the feasibility of a national screening programme.
Further work is under way. He said: “I am very pleased that the Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) programme, a new and ground-breaking flagship programme of work funded by NHS England will soon be arriving in Halton from December.
“It will contribute to the ambition of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve early diagnosis and survival for those diagnosed with lung cancer.
“People aged over 55 years old but less than 75 years old who have ever smoked will be invited to a free lung check with a lung nurse employed by Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.
“There are a total of 15,000 patients within this cohort in Halton who are eligible as Ever Smokers and are between 55 - 74 years of age across the fourteen Halton GP Practices.
“The mobile CT scanners will be located at Asda Runcorn and Asda Widnes.
“I really hope that all Halton people that are offered the opportunity take up the offer of a lung health check.”
On Trodelvy, he said: “I am a supporter of the #TimeForTrodelvy petition calling on the drug company, Gilead, to provide it free of charge, until a decision is made about its routine use on the NHS.
“Trodelvy is an exciting new drug that could give certain women living with incurable triple negative secondary breast cancer the hope of more time: more time to enjoy with loved ones and to do things that matter most to them.”
The “It’s Time For Trodelvy” petition, found online at breastcancernow.org, has been signed nearly 220,000 times.