IT is too late for Rose Harrison, who has been given only weeks to live.

But the brave mother-of-two has vowed to fight on so that other cancer patients living in North Yorkshire do not have to go through the same exhausting battle for NHS funding.

The 59-year-old, of Barlby, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of kidney cancer in April last year.

When chemotherapy failed to work, she spent nearly £10,000 on a new life-prolonging drug that health bosses refused to pay for.

But now, even that has stopped working and doctors have told her she is unlikely to live beyond April.

Today, Rose and her husband, Ronald, gave their heartfelt thanks to The Press readers who have supported their funding campaign and vowed to carry on fighting to help other families in the same situation.

Rose said: "When I went for the results of the last scan, my consultant said the treatment had given me a few more months than I would have had, but that was it.

"He told me I'd be here for April, but he didn't like to say after that.

"I just want to spend as much time as possible now with my family."

The couple, who have two children and three grandchildren, have been inseparable since they met when Rose was 18 and Ronald was 20.

Ronald, 61, said: "I can't think about spending the rest of my life without Rose, it's too painful.

"We haven't been anywhere without each other since we met 42 years ago and we always imagined we would grow old together.

"We were completely gutted when we were given the news. What can you say when somebody says your wife's life is just about to end and you've only got a few weeks left? It knocks you flat."

Rose, who used to run her own ice-cream business, said she was grateful for the extra months the drug Sunitinib had given her. She still firmly believed North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) should have footed the bill.

She said: "Nobody with cancer should ever have to pay for the drugs they need. It's just not fair and I want to keep fighting my case with the PCT to help other people in my situation in the future."

She has been backed by Selby MP John Grogan, who today promised to raise the issue with Government ministers.

He said: "A lot of the drugs that are available are about prolonging life and improving quality of life, rather than offering a cure and this is something PCTs should be taking into account.

"I will be raising the general issues that have been brought to light by Rose's case with ministers."


Disease expert wants drug available on the NHS

A TOP kidney cancer expert has also given his full backing to Rose's plight.

Professor Barry Hancock, who chairs the advisory group on kidney cancer for the National Cancer Research Network, said for a patient with advanced kidney cancer who met all the eligibility criteria, it was the unanimous opinion of kidney experts in the UK, that a drug like Sunitinib was the treatment of choice.

He said: "Quite often, primary care trusts are struggling to make ends meet, and at the moment this drug has not been through NICE, which means it is not mandatory for them to fund it.

"The problem we have is that some patients elsewhere in the country, for example in the North East, who are getting it and that is unfair to say the least. It is people's lives that are at stake and I would like to see it available on the NHS for all patients that need it.

"We know that drugs like Sunitinib do work - that they extend the time of which the disease is controlled."


A case for treatment

THE PRESS launched its Let Your Doctor Decide campaign in January last year in protest at a special panel set by the PCT to vet patients sent by their own doctors for treatment.

The cost-cutting measure sparked fury from GPs, who said it interfered with their own medical judgements. A range of medical treatments such as injections for back pain were suspended and only cases deemed "exceptional" were granted treatment.

Last April, we won a major victory, when many of the treatments that were originally suspended were made available again. But others, such as IVF and some back injections, are still only accessible through the panel.

The second job of the panel, which is known as the Individual Case Panel, is to review all high cost complex individual patient requests, such as that of Rose Harrison. A PCT spokesperson explained these decisions were made on the clinical effectiveness of drugs. He said on this evidence, the PCT's High Cost Treatments Board decided in March 2007 that the drug Sunitinib should not be routinely prescribed.

He said: "This decision is in line with other major commissioning bodies, including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), who do not commission Sunitinib other than for exceptional circumstances.

"The PCT has a responsibility to consider the evidence base for the clinical and cost effectiveness of a treatment for a particular patient, alongside a responsibility to prioritise our resources based on the overall health needs of the population we serve. The PCT is always willing to review individual cases if a patient's consultant is able to provide additional clinical or evidenced based information that may demonstrate that this patient has exceptional circumstances."