Cancer victim 'being left to die by NHS'

Jed Alexander, 31, of Hampton Wick, west London, said medical experts had told him he needed a course of the drugs dasatinib or nilotinib to improve his prognosis.

But he said preliminary guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) effectively meant he was being "left to die".

In the guidance, Nice said the cost of the treatments – thought to be about 30,000 a year – were "too high for the benefit they appear to provide".

It is due to hear further evidence next Wednesday as the consultation continues.

Ahead of the independent committee meeting, Mr Alexander said: "I'm exhausted. It's difficult enough dealing with the fact I've got leukaemia. At the same time, I'm having to fight this when I really shouldn't be.

"If I'm given these drugs, there's a chance of living several more decades and effectively into old age.

"Without them, this decision is leaving myself and others to die when it is completely avoidable."

Trainee psychologist Mr Alexander, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2007, married last year and hopes to start a family.

"We would like to start a family and grow old as a family," he said.