Macmillan praises interim cancer fund
28 July 2010
Government plans to set up a £50 million interim fund ahead
of the implementation of the Cancer Drug Fund next year have been
welcomed by a national charity.
Macmillan Cancer Support praised the move, stating that it will
allow patients access to treatments not routinely available on the
NHS.
However, the organisation stressed the importance of using the
fund to give people with rare forms of cancer equal access to
treatment.
A poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of the charity in May found
that 90 per cent of the public support equal access to cancer
drugs, even if it costs the NHS more.
Mike Hobday, Head of Policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said:
"It's simply not acceptable that a patient's chance of getting
clinically proven treatment has depended so much on whether their
cancer is a common or a rare one."
The interim fund will be available from October, while the
Cancer Drug Fund will be launched in April 2011.
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