The Velcade Three
Article: NICE decision has given us new hope
We are cautiously optimistic about the future of multiple myeloma treatment following the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) decision to uphold the appeal on Velcade- the only licensed medicine for this devastating bone marrow cancer.
We know how well this treatment works - Jacky is living proof of the difference it can make to a myeloma patient. One year on from her treatment with Velcade she is back at work as an NHS Midwife, contributing to the community and the economy. She has been given a second chance.
However this is not a victory. The entire myeloma community has been campaigning for access to Velcade for three years and the fight must go on. The announcement today has given us all hope that soon no patient will die of myeloma without first being given access to Velcade. It could keep us alive long enough for a cure to be found.
We now wait with a little more confidence that this vital treatment will be made available to all who need it when NICE delivers its final decision. If they agree to let clinicians use Velcade on the NHS, it will be like the myeloma community winning the lottery. Without it we are sentenced to death.
We continue to campaign for access to Velcade, and since October, our story has been featured on The Sunday Edition (ITV), Jeremy Vine radio show, Look North, Calendar (ITV Yorkshire) and was mentioned in Parliament during Health Minister Questions.
Copyright © The Velcade Three, 2010.