A GRANDFATHER with advanced kidney cancer has been given a new lease of life by a drug which has just been rejected for use on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says the drug Everolimus, which prolongs the life of kidney cancer sufferers by an average of 14 months, is not worth the £99 a day cost to the taxpayer.

But two weeks ago, Stanway man Trevor Lines, 66, was granted the drug for the forseable future by NHS North East Essex.

He said: “Quite honestly, I think I’m very lucky. It is as simple as that.

“Other people I know diagnosed at the same time as me are now dead.

“I was quite surprised to get the drug, but they came up trumps.

“I shall be eternally grateful.”

Mr Lines, of Sweet Briar Road, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2005, a couple of years after retiring as a quality assurance manager at Paxmans.

The former Army mechanic had his kidney removed, but after being given the all clear the cancer returned and then spread to his lung.

He recovered from near death with drug Sutent, but in September this year it stopped being effective and an oncologist at Essex County Hospital recommended he take Everolimus.

He said: “I’m now continuing to live rather than expecting to die in the next six months or a year.”

Mr Lines, who lives with Beatrice, his wife of 45 years, said the treatments have helped him continue a high standard of living, which Nice should take into account more.

He added: “As it stands I’m still leading a fairly normal life.

“I’m not in any pain whatsoever, although like any drug, it has some pretty drastic side effects. But as far as I’m concerned, any side effect is better than the alternative.”

Macmillan Cancer Support has started a campaign urging Nice to recommend primary care trusts, like NHS North East Essex, to fund drugs for rarer forms of cancer.

Head of policy Mike Hobday said: “This is frustrating news, especially as cancer patients have already been denied four treatments for advanced kidney cancer by Nice.”

Nice chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said the committee felt there was too much uncertainty surrounding how cost-effective the drugs were to be able to recommend it to health trusts.

Visit www.macmillan.org.uk/cancerdrugs for more information.