A north-east campaigner has won her six-year battle to have a life-prolonging bowel drug prescribed across the NHS.
Tina McGeever said she was overjoyed that the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) had decided to approve cetuximab after her former husband, Michael Gray, spent the last months of his life fighting for it to be made more widely available.
The theatre artistic director, from Fochabers in Moray, said the move would put an end to the existing “postcode lottery” and ensure no other family had to go through the trauma and turmoil that hers had faced.
Mr Gray’s friends and family raised more than £15,000 to pay for cetuximab after NHS Grampian initially refused to do so.
The drug prolonged his life for six months until his death, aged 53, in April 2008.
An SMC statement yesterday said cetuximab had been accepted for “restricted use as a first-line therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer” as it had been shown to extend survival and allow patients to maintain a normal life.
“Boards review the medicine in the context of other existing comparable treatments and decide whether to accept it within their approved list,” noted the statement.
“There is an expectation that NHS boards will work together to ensure a consistent approach to such considerations.”
Ms McGeever, who works with the Out of the Darkness theatre company in Elgin, said: “This is fantastic news because that is the drug Michael needed when it was licensed but not approved.
“My husband started his fight for cetuximab before he died and it was a hard, hard fight.
“This decision hopefully means other families will not have to fight the way we had to.
“The fact this drug is going to be available when someone is diagnosed is absolutely wonderful.
“That is exactly what we are trying to achieve – equality of access.
“It is fabulous news. I am so, so pleased because there was a time in the past year when I questioned whether I had been wasting years fighting for access to drugs.”
Mark Flannagan, chief executive of support charity Beating Bowel Cancer said the move was a “welcome step forward”.
“We’ve campaigned long and hard for fair and equal access to treatments for bowel cancer patients,” he added.
“When bowel cancer has spread, finding and providing the right treatment for every patient is crucial.
“This welcomed new funding for cetuximab in Scotland means that cancer patients will now have more options available to them.”
North-east Conservative MSP Dr Nanette Milne, who was a member of the Scottish Parliament’s public petitions committee at the height of Ms McGeever’s campaign, paid tribute to her efforts.
“This decision will mean a lot for many bowel cancer patients in Scotland and Tina’s determination has clearly helped to achieve it,” she added.
“Michael Gray’s petition touched the hearts of everyone and it was without doubt one of the best examples of how the public petitions committee can help bring issues to the centre of the Scottish Government.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she welcomed the fact that Cetuximab had been approved for use in Scotland.
“This is good news for those who have campaigned for the approval of this drug, and have worked in partnership with SMC and the Scottish Government to bring about improvements to access to medicines,” she said.
“It is clear that there is a significant demand for this drug, which has been proven to extend patients’ lives, enabling them to spend more time with their loved ones.
“I also welcome the approval of five other new medicines today, for use with cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, chronic pulmonary disorder and the skin conditions rosacea and urticaria.”