Bowel Cancer UK Campaign Helps Bowel Cancer Patient Win Historic Court Ruling

Bowel Cancer UK, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is the leading bowel cancer charity in the UK. A key part of its role is in campaigning on behalf of patients - often those in the later stages of the disease - to gain access to effective treatments that they've been denied on the National Health Service (NHS) on grounds of cost.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cause of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, affecting over 35,000 people each year.

Objectives

With more and more patients being denied bowel cancer treatments, and seeking the charity's support, Bowel Cancer UK wanted to increase its offering on their behalf, so that patients had the information they needed in one convenient place and didn't have to use all their scarce resources - e.g. time, energy and money - fighting bureaucracy rather than the disease.

Patient Campaigning Pack and more

The charity created a Patient Campaigning Pack, which includes advice to patients on how to campaign for treatments and raise awareness of their case, including through legal means and by engaging the help of the media and their Member of Parliament. The Pack also includes information about the various bowel cancer treatments and about other disease related developments and services.

Bowel Cancer UK also engaged the pro-bono support of lawyers to help patients to appeal the decisions made by their Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), utilising the concept of "Exceptionality", as featured in the Pack. The charity distributed the Pack to patients, carers, clinicians, the media, MPs and others - nearly 1,000 copies in its first two months of existence - as well as to colorectal cancer organisations from other European countries, during an event that Europacolon organised at the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona, Spain.