A retired car dealer with terminal liver cancer has become the latest victim of the 'postcode lottery' of healthcare after being denied potentially life-extending drugs.
David Hillier, of Great West Road, Osterley, was this month refused funding for Sorafenib (commonly known as Nexavar) by bosses at NHS Hounslow - despite medics telling him the treatment represented his best chance of beating the disease.
The Chronicle last month highlighted how NHS Hounslow (formerly Hounslow PCT) had rejected every application received in the last year-and-a-half, including eight since April this year alone.
Mr Hillier, who had waited two months to hear the decision, said he was 'choked' to hear the bad news and had no idea what he would do now.
"It's been so hard waiting all this time knowing I've got two tumours on my liver only to be told I'm not worthy of the best treatment available," he added.
The 69-year-old was told he would be lucky to survive for another year after being diagnosed with cancer last November but, despite suffering from shallow breathing and a lack of appetite, his condition has remained steady.
He refused chemotherapy for the incredibly rare form of the disease, known as multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma, after doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital told him it could lead to potentially fatal liver failure.
He believes that decision may have influenced members of NHS Hounslow's 'exceptional circumstances' panel when deciding whether he should get Nexavar, which has yet to be officially approved for use on the NHS by drugs watchdog NICE.
"When I was offered chemotherapy I was told it would extend my life by a matter of months but there was a possibility the injections could kill me," he said. "I turned it down because I was still quite active and didn't want to take the risk. It's my life and my choice to make but I'm worried it may have influenced the panel members deciding whether to approve the new drugs."
