Petition for cancer treatment to be funded reaches 46,000 signatories
More than 46,000 people have signed a petition calling on the NHS to fund a life-changing cancer treatment for patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).
The cancer charity Planets is leading the campaign for the treatment, known as selective internal radiation therapy (Sirt), to be made available through the NHS after it was approved for use more than a year ago.
A spokesman for the charity said: 'Every year approximately 6,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with NETs, a complex and often slow-growing cancer that can be difficult to detect and treat.
'Many patients develop tumours in the liver where the treatment could offer significant benefits.
'Sirt involves injecting millions of tiny radioactive beads called microspheres – smaller than the width of a human hair – into the blood supply in the liver to destroy cancer cells.'
The spokesman said that despite approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in May 2024, NHS England had yet to commission it meaning that patients had no timetable for when it might become available.
He added that Sirt was already available on the NHS for patients whose liver cancer developed in the organ directly or which had spread to it from the bowel but NET patients remained excluded.
Layla Stephen, a NET patient from Hampshire and director of strategy and finance for Planets, said: ' Patients are missing out simply because of red tape.
'Without NHS commissioning, only those that can afford to go private have access to Sirt and that is simply not right or fair – we need to change this.'
Ms Stephen added: 'In a statement earlier this year, NHS England said it was developing a national policy on Sirt to ensure all patients across England have the best possible treatment, yet there is still no confirmed timeline despite approval in May last year, leaving patients in limbo and suffering agonising uncertainty.'
Caroline Nokes, Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North, has written to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting about the issue.
She said: 'Constituents of mine with neuroendocrine tumours should not be caught in a bureaucratic limbo when effective treatment is both available and approved. There needs to be fairness and transparency for these patients.'
An NHS spokeswoman said previously: 'The NHS understands the concerns raised about access to selective internal radiation therapy (Sirt) for neuroendocrine tumours in the liver.
'The health service is currently reviewing a clinical proposal and developing a new national mandated NHS policy on Sirt to ensure all patients across England have the best possible treatment for their liver metastases.'
The petition can be found at: change.org/p/ensure-access-for-cancer-patients-to-life-changing-treatment-approved-by-nice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Ex-classmates died after being treated at same mental health hospital - as concerns raised over more deaths
They were former classmates who both died after receiving care from the same mental health hospital three years apart. Warning: This article contains reference to suicide Multiple failings led to the death of 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo - who took her own life in July 2015 - and the NHS trust responsible for her care was charged with corporate manslaughter. Last week, following a months-long trial, the trust was found not guilty of that charge but was convicted of serious health and safety failings. Karis Braithwate, who had gone to school with Alice, also died in 2018, having been treated by the same NHS trust. Reports seen by Sky News detail a decade of deaths at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), with coroners repeatedly raising concerns about the mental health services provided by the trust - in particular at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford. Rushed assessments and neglect were often cited. One patient was marked as alive and well, even though he had taken his own life inside the hospital the previous day. Another patient told staff he was hearing voices telling him to kill himself, yet staff did not remove crucial items from his possession - items he would later use to take his own life. Karis, 24, was sent to Goodmayes Hospital after she tried to take her own life at a train station in October 2018. The next day, staff spent 27 minutes assessing her and a further two minutes confirming their conclusion. She was discharged from hospital in the afternoon. She then went to a nearby railway station and took her own life. Her death came less than an hour after she had left the hospital. Karis had been friends with Alice, her mother said. The pair had been classmates at the same school. Karis told her mother she was upset at being put on the same ward where Alice had taken her own life three years earlier. Her stepfather Mark Bambridge called Karis sweet and kind and said she often "struggled with life". He felt relief when she was taken to hospital, saying: "She was in a place where she would be taken care of." Karis's mother - who asked not to be named - said her daughter confided in her about the neglect she endured at the hospital. Karis told her mother that her carer would sleep when they were supposed to be watching over her and said she never felt safe. "She spoke of her belongings going missing, of being treated with indifference and disrespect, and of staff who showed little concern for her wellbeing," her mother said. Karis's mother said her daughter was failed by the hospital and the family was offered only a "hollow, superficial and indifferent 'apology' from the administration team of those who were meant to protect her". In the wake of the verdict in Alice's case, Karis's mother said: "I am holding Alice's family in my thoughts and praying they receive the justice they - and we - so clearly need and deserve." A spokesperson for NELFT called Karis's death a "profound tragedy" and said the trust had conducted an in-depth review of patient safety since 2018, "resulting in significant changes in the way we assess risk of suicide". "We train our staff to consider the trauma in a patient's history, rather than focusing solely on their current crisis," the spokesperson added. "This approach allows us to see the person behind the diagnosis, making it easier to identify warning signs and support safe recovery." The trust said it had also improved record-keeping and communication between emergency workers and mental health practitioners. The man marked as alive after he'd died Sky News looked at more than 20 prevention of future death reports, which are written by a coroner to draw attention to a matter in which they think action could be taken to prevent future deaths. Behind each report is a different person, but there are some strikingly similar themes - failure to carry out adequate risk assessments; issues sharing and recording information; neglect. One report said staff at Goodmayes Hospital "panicked and did not follow policy" in the wake of a man's death in 2021, instead writing that he was still alive when he had died the day before. Speaking in response at the time, the trust said it had written a "detailed action plan" to address concerns raised. Another report said one woman developed deep vein thrombosis after she was left to sit motionless in her room. She had not eaten or drunk anything in the two days before her death, and the trust was criticised for failing to record her food intake. Responding to the report at the time, the trust said it had implemented new policies to learn from her death. Issues stretched beyond Goodmayes Hospital and spanned the entire NHS trust. One man was not given any community support and overdosed after his access to medication was not limited. Another man, a father of three, was detained under the Mental Health Act but released from Goodmayes after just a few hours. The 39-year-old was found dead two weeks later after being reported missing by his family. At his inquest, a coroner raised concerns about the lack of a detailed assessment around him, with a junior doctor saying he was the only doctor available for 11 wards and 200 patients. 'Don't kill yourself on my shift' It has been 10 years since Alice took her own life inside the walls of Goodmayes Hospital. But current patients say the issues haven't gone away. Teresa Whitbread said her 18-year-old granddaughter Chantelle was a high suicide risk but she still managed to escape from the hospital "20 times". "I walked in one day and said, 'Where is Chantelle?', and no one could tell me," she told Sky News. On another occasion, Chantelle managed to get into the medical room and stabbed herself and a nurse with a needle. She said one nurse told her granddaughter: "Don't kill yourself on my shift. Wait until you go home and kill yourself." Teresa grew emotional as she talked about her granddaughter, once a vibrant young girl and avid boxer, whose treatment is now managed by community services. "It's made her worse," Teresa said of Chantelle's experience at Goodmayes Hospital. "There's no care, there's no care plan, there's no treatment." The NEFLT said it could not comment on specific cases but added that "patient safety is our absolute priority, and we work closely with our patients and their families to ensure we provide compassionate care tailored to their needs". Chantelle's family say she is a shell of her former self and have begged mental health services not send her back to Goodmayes. "Something has to change, and if it doesn't change, [the hospital] needs to be closed down," Teresa said. "Because people are not safe in there."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Weight loss pill shows promise in new trial
A new weight loss medication, which can be offered by injection or tablet, can help patients lose a significant amount weight, studies suggest. An early study have found that people who received higher doses of amycretin as a weekly jab lost 24.3% of their body weight after 36 weeks of treatment. And initial trials assessing a tablet form of the drug also showed promising results, with patients taking daily tablets losing an average of 13.1% of their body weight after 12 weeks. Weight loss jabs have been hailed as transformative by NHS leaders. But injections come with additional work for over-stretched health services so tablet forms of medication may offer a new hope for the millions of people looking to lose weight. It has been estimated that around 1.5 million Britons are having weight loss jabs, which have been either prescribed through specialist weight loss services or private prescriptions. GPs will be able to dish out that jabs from next week. Amycretin, made by Novo Nordisk, helps to control blood sugar and appetite by targeting two specific receptors in the body – GLP-1 and the amylin receptor. An early trial in 125 adults testing weekly injections of amycretin, which has been published in The Lancet, found that those taking the highest dosage (60mg) lost 24.3% after 36 weeks of treatment. It also showed signs in improving blood sugar levels. Side effects included nausea and vomiting and were mostly mild to moderate and resolved by the end of treatment. 'These phase 1b/2a data support the potential of once-weekly subcutaneous amycretin as a therapeutic for people living with overweight or obesity,' the authors wrote. 'Amycretin appeared safe and tolerable, and there were significant reductions in body weight after 36 weeks of treatment.' The second early trial, published in the same journal, assessed amycretin in tablet form in 144 people over 12 weeks. There were mild to moderate side effects including loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Researchers found that people taking the highest dose of 100mg per day, lost 13.1% of their body weight over four months. The authors wrote: 'Amycretin effectively lowered body weight and improved metabolic and glycaemic parameters in people with overweight or obesity. 'Longer studies with more participants are warranted for evaluation of the safety and efficacy of amycretin in individuals living with obesity and type 2 diabetes, and to optimise the dosing regimen.' The studies were also presented at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago, in the US. It comes as a separate study, which was published at the same meeting, examined the effects of weight loss jab Wegovy at higher doses. Researchers found that giving patients 7.2mg of Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, once a week led to an average weight loss of 20.7%, with a third of participants losing 25% or more of their body weight after 72 weeks.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Weight loss pill shows promise in new trial
An early study have found that people who received higher doses of amycretin as a weekly jab lost 24.3% of their body weight after 36 weeks of treatment. And initial trials assessing a tablet form of the drug also showed promising results, with patients taking daily tablets losing an average of 13.1% of their body weight after 12 weeks. Weight loss jabs have been hailed as transformative by NHS leaders. But injections come with additional work for over-stretched health services so tablet forms of medication may offer a new hope for the millions of people looking to lose weight. It has been estimated that around 1.5 million Britons are having weight loss jabs, which have been either prescribed through specialist weight loss services or private prescriptions. GPs will be able to dish out that jabs from next week. Amycretin, made by Novo Nordisk, helps to control blood sugar and appetite by targeting two specific receptors in the body – GLP-1 and the amylin receptor. An early trial in 125 adults testing weekly injections of amycretin, which has been published in The Lancet, found that those taking the highest dosage (60mg) lost 24.3% after 36 weeks of treatment. It also showed signs in improving blood sugar levels. Side effects included nausea and vomiting and were mostly mild to moderate and resolved by the end of treatment. 'These phase 1b/2a data support the potential of once-weekly subcutaneous amycretin as a therapeutic for people living with overweight or obesity,' the authors wrote. 'Amycretin appeared safe and tolerable, and there were significant reductions in body weight after 36 weeks of treatment.' The second early trial, published in the same journal, assessed amycretin in tablet form in 144 people over 12 weeks. There were mild to moderate side effects including loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Researchers found that people taking the highest dose of 100mg per day, lost 13.1% of their body weight over four months. The authors wrote: 'Amycretin effectively lowered body weight and improved metabolic and glycaemic parameters in people with overweight or obesity. 'Longer studies with more participants are warranted for evaluation of the safety and efficacy of amycretin in individuals living with obesity and type 2 diabetes, and to optimise the dosing regimen.' The studies were also presented at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago, in the US. It comes as a separate study, which was published at the same meeting, examined the effects of weight loss jab Wegovy at higher doses. Researchers found that giving patients 7.2mg of Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, once a week led to an average weight loss of 20.7%, with a third of participants losing 25% or more of their body weight after 72 weeks.
