“This organisation has taken it upon itself to say, that patient will not see Christmas,” cancer sufferer Colin Ross, who has been given only months to live, tells The Argus. He is mounting a legal challenge against health bosses after he was refused access to a drug that could give him another three years of life.

Mr Ross argues that if drugs are available to save lives, people must be given them. Siobhan Ryan reports.

Instead of focusing all his energies on his health, Colin Ross is having to drag himself through the courts for the chance of staying alive a little longer.

Colin, 55, has been told by experts at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London that unless he is given the drug Revlimid, he will not live to see Christmas.

However, if he is able to have the treatment, there is a good chance he could survive for another three years.

He said: “At first they said it might just be one year and that would have been enough for me.

That may not seem such a major deal to the general public but to me it means everything.

“Now there is a chance it could be even longer and I am going to do everything I can to get it.

“I am sitting here and battling to get this treatment. There have been times when I’ve been tempted to throw in the towel but not any more.

“I shouldn’t have to do this but it won’t stop me doing it.”

Mr Ross, who has two daughters and four grandchildren aged between three and ten, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells, in 2004.

He has had a range of chemotherapy as well as doses of two other drugs currently being prescribed on the NHS for myeloma patients, Thalidomide and Velcade.

However, he was forced to stop taking them because of the painful side-effects they caused.

The Royal Marsden made an urgent application to West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) for funding of the drug Revlimid for three to four months to start with initially.

Each course of treatment costs about £5,000 and Mr Ross is asking for £20,000 to cover the cost of four doses.

Although Revlimid is readily available to patients across Europe and in the US, it has not yet been granted approval by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice).

This means only some PCTs will provide it in exceptional circumstances.

After waiting for a decision for almost 11 weeks, Mr Ross was finally told in May his application was being turned down as the drug was too expensive and his circumstances were not exceptional enough to qualify him for funding.

Before he became ill, Mr Ross, from Horsham, had been fit and healthy and a successful table tennis player and coach at county level.

He worked in the oil industry and often travelled abroad.

Before he was diagnosed he had developed a series of problems including broken bones, heavy nosebleeds, tiredness and an intense and crippling pain in his back.

After numerous scans and tests he was finally diagnosed and underwent numerous treatments.

Over the following months he lost his hair, had a stem cell transplant and at one stage was taking up to 100 pills a day to help reduce the risk of infection and manage his pain.

His hands and feet became numb, he was registered disabled and had to give up driving.

Earlier this year medics told him his only real option was the drug Revlimid.

He said: “It took an unacceptable length of time for the PCT to come back with its response.

Every day counts for me.

“From what I can see the reasons for rejecting it is that financially I am not worth spending the money on. How do you think that makes me feel?

“Basically, this organisation has taken it upon itself to say yes, that patient will not see Christmas.

“I am very angry and very upset. I sit here on occasion and I am reduced to tears with the frustration of it all. It is bad enough to receive a diagnosis like this.

“Now I am being kicked in the teeth when I am down.

“Apparently there is not enough of a track record to gauge the success of the treatment.

Well I am happy to help with that track record.

“I have paid all my dues all my life, hardly taken any time off sick from work, given so much to the community through the sports I have done and this is how I am repaid.

“I do not have a penny to my name and I am getting legal aid for this legal action. I fully intend to fight this all the way.

“I heard a story where a patient from Brighton needed the drug and was given it without any trouble so why can’t a neighbouring authority do the same? It is a clear case of a postcode lottery.”

Mr Ross has instructed law firm Irwin Mitchell to help him take action and head for the High Court if necessary.

A statement released by West Sussex PCT said: “West Sussex PCT has the greatest sympathy with any patient suffering from a terminal condition.

“We have to make difficult commissioning decisions, given that resources within the NHS are limited.

“The PCT must be satisfied that a drug is both clinically effective and cost-effective before it can agree to expend taxpayers’ money on that drug.

“The position has not yet been reached with regard to the particular drug combination for which Mr Ross seeks funding.

“We work closely with the three cancer networks that work across West Sussex, none of which have, to date, applied to the PCT for funding approval for this drug.

“Given legal proceedings are expected to be issued shortly by Mr Ross’ solicitors we regret we are unable to comment further on the details of this case.”

Have you or someone you know experienced the same problem gaining access to potentially life-saving drugs? Call Siobhan Ryan on 01273 732254 or leave your comments below.