Girl, 5, to get cancer drug not available on NHS

The parents of a five-year-old girl have been told she can be treated with a potentially life-saving drug which is currently only available overseas.

Annabel Ashmore, from Gateshead, needs to start a two-year treatment by November to reduce the risk of her stage four neuroblastoma returning.

Her parents, Mike and Libby, had started fundraising for the £105,000 needed to send Annabel to the US every three months for two years for treatment.

But now the family has been told the government and the drug manufacturer have reached an agreement to give children, such as Annabel, "compassionate" access to the drug with a special licence.

The medication, called difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), is available in Australia and the US, but is not yet approved for use on the NHS.

Gateshead Central and Whickham MP Mark Ferguson, who had raised Annabel's case in Parliament, said: "What [the parents] have had to go through with their daughter, is something that none of us would want to have to go through."

Annabel was given a 50% chance of survival when she was diagnosed with the cancer at the age of four, and underwent a gruelling treatment regime including surgery, high-dose chemotherapy, proton beam radiotherapy, immunotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

Although her parents have been told there are still some hurdles to overcome, they said being granted access to the drug in the UK was "amazing news".

The case was raised in Parliament last month and Sir Keir Starmer promised he would try to speed up the process.

Speaking on BBC Look North, Ferguson paid tribute to Annabel's parents.

He added: "Everyone from the prime minister down, is wishing Annabel all the best with her treatment, and hopefully with her recovery."

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