Monday, July 9, 2007
Health body in U-turn on mesothelioma treatment
Campaigners today welcomed an announcement by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) that the NHS in England and Wales is to pay for chemotherapy for the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma.
The move reverses an earlier decision by the health body to refuse public funding for Alimta (pemetrexed disodium), on the ground that it was not cost effective, at £8,000 for a full course. But health professionals and the manufacturer of the drug, Lilly, pointed out that the treatment, for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, is already available in Scotland. They also said a total bill of £3 million to £6 million a year compares favourably with that for Herceptin, the breast cancer drug which costs the NHS around £120 million.
The NICE guidance will be issued to NHS trusts in a few months if there is no appeal against it.
Kevin Johnson of specialist asbestos law firm John Pickering and Partners LLP commented: “This will be an immense relief for mesothelioma sufferers who, up to now, have been granted or denied treatment with Alimta according to where they live, because it has been up to individual NHS trusts to decide on funding. People with mesothelioma will no longer have to battle for treatment that can prolong their life and greatly reduce their suffering.”
Medical experts believe that Alimta is one of very few treatments for mesothelioma that has been shown to benefit patients. It is already available in many other countries in Europe and beyond. The cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, with medical intervention often consisting, up to now, only of management of symptoms. Under the revised NICE guidance, Alimta is recommended for patients who are able to carry out day-to-day tasks but whose cancer is advanced and where surgery is inappropriate.
Background
Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma. Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit. Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.
John Pickering and Partners LLP
John Pickering and Partners LLP is a specialist legal practice that has represented claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.
The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life." Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of the victims of asbestos.
If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.
Further information:
Kevin Johnson, Partner
John Pickering and Partners LLP
19 Castle Street
Liverpool
L2 4SX
Telephone: 0151 227 1214
E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
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