Lung cancer drug 'gets go-ahead'

Colin Graves told the BBC he was angry about the initial decision

Patients across the north east of England are to be given a potentially life-saving lung cancer drug.

Regional health bosses have lifted restrictions on Alimta to be given to people with mesothelioma.

The decision by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority was made just days after a Teesside man's case was highlighted by the BBC.

The drug can extend a patient's life by up to four months, but is not a cure for the disease.

It is important for every case to be considered individually by the consultant and patient together Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority spokeswoman

It is given to patients in some areas such as London, but in the north east, which has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma, health trusts had initially ruled they could not justify funding it.

The cancer is caused by asbestos, which many people were exposed to when the shipbuilding and steel industries were thriving.

The SHA, which oversees the region's NHS trusts, said it would be given to patients where doctors consider it "clinically appropriate".

A spokeswoman said: "It is important for every case to be considered individually by the consultant and patient together.

"Where the shared decision is that Alimta should be prescribed, it is recommended that it should be provided free of charge by the NHS."

The ruling covers NHS trusts in County Durham, Tees Valley, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

Mesothelioma patient Colin Graves, who may only have months to live, told the BBC earlier this week he could not understand why the NHS was not funding it in the north east.