Dear everyone,
I have just noticed on BBC text that on December the 15th and 16th the CDF is going to review access to 42 drugs. These include the breast cancer drugs eribulin, lapatinib, pertuzumab, TDM1, avastin and afinitor. I don’t know if anyone else feels like I do about this but the fact they are discussing ‘cost effectiveness’ for these drugs in my mind and forgive the melodrama is signing my death warrant. We know what happens when they review the ‘cost effectiveness’ of drugs it is just going to be a prelude to withdrawing them. I am currently on herceptin and peruzumab funded through the CDF. My consultant has in the past tried to reassure me that if there is progression I could move onto xeloda and lapatinib. I can probably kiss goodbye to that. What about the peruzumab? Will that be taken away?? I just wonder if anyone else is worried. You like to think that treatments have improved so much in past years but it doesn’t look like ordinary people will be allowed access to them!!
I wish you all the very best especially Dawn!! I hope TDM1 does the trick. You are such an inspiration!
PumpkinSue
urgh great thats all we need x
Its bad enough that we cant get a lot of these drugs in Wales as it is with no CDF! Reduce our accessibility to these drugs a bit more…thats really putting the final nail in our coffins!
I feel really angry about this. Not so long ago I read not enough patients were being referred for the CDF.
I thought the whole point of this was to use funds to access drugs that were not easily available through the usual channels probably due to NICE thinking of cost effectiveness. If they are applying cost effectiveness to the CDF now what is the !?**!! point?
Diana Jupp, Director of Services and Campaigns at Breast Cancer Care, said: "It’s incredibly worrying for anyone affected by secondary breast cancer, which cannot be cured, that so many breast cancer medicines are up for evaluation within the Cancer Drugs Fund. We know this is an issue of enormous anxiety, on top of the already huge emotional burden of living with cancer.
“Access to best treatment and care for people with secondary breast cancer urgently needs addressing. It’s critical that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England and the pharmaceutical industry work together to find an efficient new system that ensures all patients across the UK can benefit from new approved treatments.”
breastcancercare.org.uk/news/blog/cancer-drugs-fund-re-evaluation-incredibly-worrying-our-statement
Best wishes
Anna
Agreed Belinda. Let’s hope the powers that be get their act together on this one and get the wheels in motion asap. Time is of the essence xxxx
I do wonder - tho probably I shouldn’t - whether NICE has ever rejected an antidiabetic drug. (Anyone know how I could find out?) I suspect that cancer drugs are more expensive than those for diabetes :smileyfrustrated:
PS I had 7 cycles of eribulin in 2013.