to provide the life saving medication that women suffering with breast cancer. they are trying to say that its too expensive!!! if we pay national insurance and tax,plus taxes on more or less every god damn thing how dare they deny these people this treatment. its a sad sad world when this country cant even look after its own. maybe if these bloody government workers didnt drive round in big fancy cars and have ridiculous bonus’s every year. and go out for government functions that must cost in the region of thousands to feed them the posh food they have become accustomed to,maybe then the money they waste could be put to good use. i bet if royalty needed this treatment that they wouldnt be denied,yet we who pay to keep this country going have no say. what are your thoughts on this. no stupid nasty answers please. people who have suffered and are still suffering with cancer need posative friendly support,not vicious comments like ive seen on here before. xx
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June 29, 2009
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I totally agree, my mum was recently diagnosed and so far we don’t know what treatment she’s going to have but it is ridiculous that we pay all this money just to be refused the treatement we need!
congrats on being all clear!
Comment by Andromeda Newton™ — June 29, 2009 @ 11:13 am
I no
I work for the trust. The cut-backs are rediculous. We even have to be careful how much cling-film and tin foil we use in the kitchen… while all the fat cats are spinning around in their company cars. Its rediculous the money isn’t being better spent.
There was £40,000 left to our nursing home by a resident. Were did the money go? New benches and a bird house, bird bath and a green house!!! Bird house cost well over £1,000!
Were could that money have been better spent? Mad.
Hope every-thing works out well for you. Good luck for the future!
Comment by Fluffy Bum — June 29, 2009 @ 11:48 am
I fully understand why you are so angry and frustrated.
I think another valid point is that if drug companies didn’t make these drugs so expensive for the sake of their astronomical profits, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a fight to get these treatments.
I know they justify this by saying this pays for the research. Why doesn’t the government fund more research and then the patent for these drugs could be owned by the NHS?
Good wishes to you in your recovery, I hope you continue to get stronger and to put this horrible illness firmly behind you.
Comment by GoldieMe — June 29, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
Firstly congratulations on overcoming this dreadful disease. I too have been in your shoes after having cervical cancer 8 years ago. It totally riles me how treatment is governed by your postcode! EVERYONE who has this awful disease deserves to get the same treatment despite where you live and your financial situation. We all pay National Insurance, and I sometimes ask myself why we bother, what does it get us? I would also love to know where all the money that the cancer charities raise goes? Because it certainly does not go on providing cancer treatments to everyone.
Comment by malibugi — June 29, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
I totally agree with you………we pay tax on everything, we get fined for everying and we keep this country running. The problem is the government dont live in the real world, there in a bubble and havent got a clue what real life it like. Well done for overcoming cancer!! xx
Comment by *New Mummy* — June 29, 2009 @ 5:42 pm
Alot of people with various conditions and illnesses don’t get treatments because of the NHS costs and waiting lists, or they get them far too late.
I do totally agree with your points and it’s how I feel.
Comment by Nattelie — June 29, 2009 @ 7:49 pm
First of all, good for you that you are all cured. I wish you good health.
Secondly, there is no easy answer here. Years of wasted opportunity coupled to mismanagement in a series of governments added to unreal expectations among the public all put great stresses on the NHS.
Comment by boohooho — June 29, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
I totally agree with you. I just saw an article the other day of how we are trying to get cheap (like in the dollar range) AIDS medication to poor countries while they are charging us an arm and a leg for the medication. What about that is fair? There are poor people here too!
Comment by clbowman — June 29, 2009 @ 10:47 pm
Great news on your all-clear.
New treatments which come in are always really expensive, as the pharmaceutical companies seek to claw back the costs of research. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the point where we can treat *everybody* with the most expensive thing all the time, so someone along the line has to make decisions. The question is, who gets to do that, and what criteria do they use when making the decisions?
I don’t think there are any easy answers here…
Comment by Lobster — June 30, 2009 @ 1:34 am
Well done and heres wishing you well for the futre with many years ahead of you yet. Now clam down as getting upset will do you no good at all. I know!
Everthing seems to be a post code lottery these days and if you have the right PC your okay well seemingly. However, do you no think that we would all be willing to pay a few extra pence on our contributions if we thought those who needed the life saving medication would receive it. I have my doubts that this would happen though.
Sheer incompetence the way NHS money is squandered it is an absolute disgrace as the NHS is still the envy of many but it is being slowly erroded because of the demands being made on it and by tiers of administration and management.
Keep well and thank you for thinking of others.
Comment by Boudicca — June 30, 2009 @ 4:02 am
I am in the same position as you, was given the all clear 5 weeks ago though..
I totally agree with you. I think people dealing with budgets, forget they are dealing with peoples lives, rather than commodities like new roads and new books for schools. I think if they had been through what we have they’d understand.
Comment by EnglishS — June 30, 2009 @ 7:41 am
First of all, well done you, you are truely admirable! xxxx
It is absolutely diabolical, my poor mum has battled through breast cancer twice now and it makes me sick to my stomach that this drug is readily available but there are too tight to provide it on the NHS!!!
Just let me at them!!
Take care xxxx
Comment by Katie — June 30, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Firstly = well done. It is exactly a year ago that I finished my Chemo. I have to have herceptin, due to the fact, that I am high risk. Here in S Africa, our medical insurance refuse to pay for it – and so I have to find the money myself. It is costing R20 000.00 for 450 ml. That is a lot of money and fortunately I can afford it. I could weep for those patients who aren’t so lucky, but although you can fight as much as you want, they turn a blind eye. It is all about finances, and nothing about health. The evil word is profit….
Comment by celianne — June 30, 2009 @ 12:24 pm
I work in an Oncology Unit in Ireland.
There is no problem here about getting any of the cancer drugs; Herceptin is available to anyone who needs it. We have no NHS system like you do in the UK. We have a tiered system of healthcare….if you are poor, you can get a medical card which covers any and all medical treatments; outside those limits, you either have private health insurance, or you pay the normal 60 euro a day charge for hospital admissions up to a maximum of 600 euro I think, in any one 12 month period.
This charge covers all your treatment and drugs while you are admitted. In our Unit, it’s a day ward, but we technically “admit” people to the hospital for the day, so all treatments done are as an inpatient.
We have some people travelling from England and the North of Ireland because they cannot get Herceptin in their own areas. I think you are quite right, it is an absolute scandal…for God’s sake – the treatments are there, in a well-off European country, why are they whining about the cost of life-saving drugs?
Well done on coming through a terrible illness!
Comment by marie m — June 30, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
I do think that it’s a postcode lottery. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31 and my treatment was first class – in fact, I was transferred to a private surgeon from the NHS because they wanted me to have the best care as I was so young. I’ve always been given exactly what I needed or even wanted sometimes – like when I wanted to carry on my zoladex injections for another year. They just said yes. I’m in the Midlands by the way.
I had a mastectomy and full reconstruction with nipple tattooing etc… everyone has been fab.
Unfortunately, I hear horror stories far too often and it seems there is little anyone can do as it is down to local government a lot of the time.
I wish you all the best.
Mx.
Comment by Mikala T — June 30, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
My Mum was given the all clear from breast cancer just last week after undergoing a mastectomy,chemo & radiotherapy.To think that the treatment would not be available to her on the NHS is unthinkable…..You can not put a price on preserving life….and to think about what the goverment wastes money on every day….it makes my blood boil…until it happens to you….you do not truly know the depths of the trauma it causes to all around that person & the perso themseves…
Is it not hard enough to come to terms with the fact that you have cancer,than to have to worry if you can have the treatment or not based on finance…..?
Lets hope Gordon Brown digs in his pocket & sorts this one out….
Comment by dontgive — July 1, 2009 @ 3:27 am
I so so so agree with you. I am so pleased you have got the all clear though. Congratulations. x
Comment by Niks — July 1, 2009 @ 4:31 am
i am so pleased that you are a surviver and yes it also makes me angry that we have the medication now but not be able to have it because of stupid budgets nationaly we have been giving to cancer charitys for well over 60 years and its always the poor that are the most generous and yet this is the very group that are refused when they need the help the most bet they have plenty of funding to CURE drug addicts
Comment by suziejoy — July 1, 2009 @ 7:56 am
Mevlana what Stone was referring to is a special treatment which is being denied cancer patients because NHS say its to expensive//Well what Stone says we all have the same sentiments and its true to the last word//now about USA Yahoo site of course we are on it from UK the same as your country folk are on UK Yahoo all day didn’t you know that (so be careful what you say I’m listening) Bye
Comment by srracvue — July 1, 2009 @ 8:55 am
I’m very happy to hear you pulled through
Yes i totally agree with you, we pay our taxes and we should have any treatment needed to save our lives !.
I’m 46 and need a hip replacement and they don’t want to give me one until I’m 60, can you believe that !!.
Too many bureaucrats sitting in offices making decisions about us, safe in the knowledge that they have a lovely fat insurance policy and private hospital treatment waiting should they need it !!.
Comment by Richard — July 1, 2009 @ 10:40 am
firstly, CONGRATULATIONS, second, its because a lot of money gets diverted to administration costs which means some fat cats ase getting richer off the tax we pay for health service an thats bang out of order.
Comment by Ste B — July 1, 2009 @ 12:18 pm
Thanks for saying that saved me having to I had larynx cancer 7 years ago no help at all from anybody $300,000.00 later I’m still alive BROKE but cancer free. No I don’t feel sorry for myself just glad I had enough money to get through it might not be so lucky next time ha ha
Comment by Lazy J — July 1, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
Not sure what country, but you say “bloody” …so maybe England…don’t they have their own YA site in the UK? You are in U.S. YA website…not sure even what treatment you are talking about…chemo? radiation? estrogen suppressing meds? morphine for dying patients?
Many drug companies offer programs to help people without insurance and within certain income levels to pay for the medicines at a reduced cost. Find out who manufactures the drug and find their website in the UK and contact them to ask about such programs..I have such a list for the U.S. If you have a specific question, maybe I could try and help you.
Comment by mevlana — July 2, 2009 @ 1:34 am