NHS panel ordered to reconsider cancer drug decision for carer

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent A judge has ordered an NHS panel to reconsider its decision to refuse a powerful cancer drug to a woman who is the sole carer of her seriously ill husband. Jean Murphy, 63, from Manchester, took her case to the High Court after Salford Primary Care Trust refused exceptional funding for an experimental drug which doctors believe would give her extra months to live. The drug sunitinib, known as Sutent, is being tested for use in kidney and stomach cancers, but is not yet widely available on the NHS. Mrs Murphy was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year – and the disease has since spread in to her lungs and her... [read full story]