Campaigning cancer patients the Velcade Three were today "elated" after a U-turn put the life-extending drug they have previously been denied within their reach.

The women, who all suffer from myeloma, have been told that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which decides what drugs are allowed to be prescribed on the NHS, has made a preliminary recommendation to give Velcade approval - after previously saying No'.

That means within weeks it could be available to cancer sufferers unless there is an unlikely groundswell of public opinion against the drug being made available in a two-week consultation period.

Delighted Bradford midwife Jacky Pickles, who lives in Keighley, spoke today on behalf of fellow myeloma sufferers Janice Wrigglesworth, of Cowling, and Marie Morton, also of Keighley, when she hailed the news as "a second bite of the cherry".

The plucky women were dubbed the Velcade Three for their high-profile battle for all suffers to receive the drug. They have multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer.

Mrs Pickles, 45, told the Telegraph & Argus her life had improved beyond measure since she was prescribed Velcade for just two and half months 14 months ago.

"I can't tell you how much better my quality of life is," said Mrs Pickles, speaking while on holiday in France.

She was given Velcade as part of clinical trials of the drug. One year on from her treatment she is back at work as an NHS midwife in Bradford.

Mrs Pickles said the three were now "cautiously optimistic" that all patients would receive the lifeline the drug offered when NICE makes its final ruling next month, after a period of public consultatation.

"We are elated. We want all myeloma suffers to have access to the drug - with no discrimination," she said.

"Today, we are really, really, happy and pleased."

A joint statement from all the women reads: "We, The Velcade Three, welcome the news of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's revised preliminary positive guidance which recommends that Velcade is made available on the NHS to some patients with multiple myeloma.

"Last August NICE issued a negative decision that would deny patients access to a treatment that would give hope.

"However, after ten long months of campaigning against that decision, which has resulted in a successful appeal, we now feel that the road ahead is more positive.

"We feel we have been given a second bite of the cherry to ensure us patients get the treatment we need.

"The outcome we now need to see is that Velcade is made available to all myeloma sufferers at the point of need after consultation with their consultants and that there is no discrimination of patients in any way."

Mrs Wrigglesworth, 60, said all three were very pleased that NICE had listened to them, but their campaign would continued until NICE gave a definitive yes following on from their preliminary recommondation issued today.

"We have worked so hard - only our friends and family realise how much effort it has been. If we get this it will be like winning the lottery," she said.

Last year NICE gave a preliminary recommendation that Velcade not be allowed on the NHS, which kick-started the Velcade Three's campaign, as exclusively revealed by the Telegraph & Argus.

In April, the Velcade Three welcomed a decision by NICE to review its own ruling denying patients NHS access to the drug.

Without the drug the three women claimed they would be "sentenced to death".

Each year myeloma kills around 3,000 people in England. Velcade cannot cure the cancer but a course of treatment, costing around £33,000, can extend a patient's life.

Patient organisations Myeloma UK, Cancerbackup and Leukaemia CARE today welcomed the news that NICE had issued revised preliminary positive guidance recommending that Velcade is made available on the NHS to patients living with the bone marrow cancer myeloma.

They said the draft recommendation was a positive step forward but they wanted to consider the proposal carefully to ensure the guidance represented the best deal for all patients.

"We very much welcome the fact that NICE has agreed that this important drug should be made available to myeloma patients, as it is without question clinically effective"

said Eric Low, chief executive of Myeloma UK.

"We understand that this draft recommendation has been reached after talks between NICE, the Department of Health and the manufacturer in which a response scheme' has been proposed, where the manufacturer rebates Primary Cary Trusts for patients that don't respond to Velcade.

"We strongly believe that no patient should die without having had appropriate access to Velcade."

Judy Dewinter, chairman of Myeloma UK, and a myeloma patient herself, said: "Patients around the country, including myself, are incredibly relieved that the ruling is a move in the right direction.

"It has been a long time coming, with many families suffering anguish because they have not been able to access the treatment. This represents a major development and gives patients hope that they are one step closer to being able to access an important treatment to help them fight this complex and challenging disease."

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