Cancer Drugs Fund aids 18,500 patients

The government has published new data showing the benefits delivered by the Cancer Drugs Fund to date, as well as underlining areas where improvements could be made.

According to the official Department of Health figures, 18,500 people have received help thanks to the extra funding made available for cancer therapies since October 2010, a period that also includes the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11.

Accompanying this data was a bulletin from the National Cancer Action Team providing a breakdown of the cancer drugs provided by region, highlighting disparities in performance between different parts of the country.

This will allow patients to identify and challenge any local variations in the drugs made available through the fund.

Care services minister Paul Burstow said: "The amount of funding we have made available has been more than sufficient to provide clinicians with the freedom to provide the cancer drugs they believe will benefit their patients."

According to a report released last month, 98 NHS trusts have improved their performance in terms of cancer care standards over the last year.