NHS spending watchdog U-turns decision to pull funding from vital bone marrow ... trends now
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Bone marrow cancer patients will now be able to receive a treatment that extends life after NHS spending chiefs U-turned on their decision not to fund it.
The treatment – a combination of three medicines – will be offered to patients with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer which affects the spongy tissue inside bones.
The condition causes weak bones that can break easily, as well as blurred vision, dizziness and extreme thirst caused by high levels of calcium in the blood.
Multiple myeloma – which cannot currently be cured – hits several areas of the body at once, such as the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs, and affects about 6,000 people in England every year.
Figures from Cancer Research UK show that only a third of patients survive with the debilitating disease for a decade.
Some 6,000 people in England contract multiple myeloma each year, pictured, which cannot currently be cured
