Cancer Patients Lose Shot at Longer Life in U.K. Cuts by David Altaner and Bruce Rule
Jack Rosser’s doctor says taking Pfizer Inc.’s Sutent cancer drug may keep him alive long enough to see his 1-year-old daughter, Emma, enter primary school. The U.K.’s National Health Service says that’s not worth the expense.
Rosser, 57, was told the cost of Sutent, 3,140 pounds ($4,650) per treatment for his advanced kidney cancer, was too high for the NHS — the government agency that funds the nation’s health care. The resident of the town of Kingswood, in southwest England, has appealed the decision twice, and next month may find out if his second plea is successful.
“It’s immoral,” Rosser’s wife, Jenny, said. “They are sentencing him to die.”
Filed under: Socialized Health Care , England, Jack Rosser, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, NHS, NICE, Pfizer, Rarer Cancers Forum, Socialized Health Care, Sutent
