A PETITION with more than 100,000 signatures demanding that English patients have access to a vital cancer drug has been presented at 10 Downing Street by Chippenham cancer victim Nic Puntis.

Mr Puntis, 44, who runs Sarah Jayne’s cafe in the Chippenham High Street with his wife, was joined by James Gray MP in London to present the petition on behalf of cancer charity GIST Support UK.

The cancer charity, which focuses on combating gastrointestinal stromal tumours, and a cross party group of MPs also presented an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons to ensure that English patients have access to the same key drug as patients in Scotland.

Mr Puntis was diagnosed with GIST in April 2010 and had to have a third of his stomach removed after developing an eight-inch tumour.

He said: “It was removed in 2010 but it’s highly aggressive so it’s almost certain to come back, it’s just a case of when. I hope the message will get through, it could not be clearer.

“The problem is they do a cost benefit analysis but when you are dealing with human lives rarely does cost benefit come into it.”

Patients with an inoperable form of the rare stomach cancer have very few treatments available to them and Regorafenib is used if the cancer is unresponsive to two other prescribed drugs Imatinib and Sunitinib.

The drug slows down or can make the cancer cells dormant which enables a patient to live for considerably longer, providing both time with their families and for research into other solutions to continue.

James Gray MP said: “Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour Cancer is an awful form of stomach cancer and Regorafenib is a key weapon in the fight against it.

“GIST patients need access to Regorafenib and where they live in the UK should have no bearing whatsoever on whether they do. I was therefore very glad to be with Nic and his team at 10 Downing Street when the petition was presented.”

Regorafenib was recently retained for GIST cancer patients to access via the NHS England Cancer Drug Fund (CDF).

However, proposed new changes to the CDF standard operating procedure indicate an unclear future for patient access to this drug if they are adopted, GIST Support UK said.

Jayne Bressington, vice chair of GIST Support UK, said: “It is vital that GIST patients in England retain access to Regorafenib. It is a key weapon in the arsenal to fight against this awful cancer. The UK government, the NHS and NICE have to keep it on the approved drug list in England.”

A CDF Review panel meeting will make a final decision on the drug on July 29.