Public urged to support campaign

Campaigning are Roisin Foster, Cancer Focus NI, with cancer patients Allister Murphy and Gary Vint (right) (pic: Brian Morrison photography). INCT 40-703-CON

To date only 800 pledges for Cancer Focus NI’s Equal Access campaign have been made from the East Antrim area.

Roisin Foster, the charity’s Chief Executive, said: “There are currently 40 cancer drugs available to patients in England that are not readily available to patients in Northern Ireland. Every year there are 500 patients here who could benefit from these specialist drugs.

“The aim of the campaign is to do away with this obvious inequality to ensure that the most effective drugs will be made available to local cancer patients in their time of need.

“There has been great support for our campaign right across Northern Ireland: we have received 16,000 pledges of support to date but still need your help to reach our 20,000 target.

“If you haven’t yet pledged your support please visit www.equalaccessni.org before 7th October when we will present the campaign to Stormont.”

Cancer Focus NI has lobbied the Executive on the restricted access of end-of-life cancer drugs in Northern Ireland for a number of years.