I was saddened to read about leukaemia sufferer Steven Davies’ battle for the right drugs to treat his condition (‘Man denied new drugs to alleviate his cancer,’ Borehamwood & Elstree Times, May 13.) I am glad he has had the courage, while fighting his illness, to publicly highlight and campaign on this extremely important matter.

Any drug that has the potential to extend someone’s life, however short a period of time that may be, has surely got to be worth it? For the sake of that person’s own life, as well as their family and friends.

Who are these anonymous bodies hiding behind closed doors such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to play God and decree that suffering patients are not entitled to the possibility at least of a longer life?

Mr Davies is quite right in saying the real evil here is money. The cost of such drugs is undoubtedly huge, but can you really put a cost on a human life? Politicians think you can, and so do the drug companies. They are the ones presumably setting the prices for these drugs. The cost of many years of scientific research to develop the drugs is enormous, they will argue. But it is high time the government regulated this area more effectively.

No doubt the drug is still available to buy privately, for those lucky enough to be able to afford it. My cousin in Wales gets free prescriptions when she goes to her GP, simply because she lives in Wales. I think this is also the case in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Yet in England we continue to pay for them.

This is wrong. It is simply a citizen’s basic right to be entitled to the best available free healthcare and drugs. Is that too much to ask?

Mrs B Grove
Borehamwood