CANCER campaigner Clive Stone has been bolstered by rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio in the fight to provide better NHS treatment for cancer sufferers.

It comes as Mr Stone, 66, revealed this week that his 34 brain tumours have been successfully removed.

Mr Stone met former England rugby international Mr Dallaglio at a London meeting set up to discuss funding for cancer treatment.

Mr Stone, from Eynsham, told his story at the Monday meeting and explained how the majority of his brain tumours were removed using gamma knife surgery – a treatment currently not available in Oxford on the NHS.

Mr Stone said Mr Dallaglio, below, later shook his hand, adding: “He said thanks for coming and I appreciate your contribution.”

Oxford Mail:

The former rugby player’s campaign for better treatment for patients has been inspired by his mother Eileen, who died of the disease.

Mr Stone added: “I’m over the moon that someone like Lawrence Dallaglio is with us — he is getting a lot of attention.

“It’s disappointing you can’t get gamma knife treatment in Oxford to remove brain tumours.

“The Prime Minister has done a lot of good work for cancer patients – he set up the £200m Cancer Drugs Fund in 2010 – but I will be writing to him about the radiotherapy issue.”

Thirty-one of Mr Stone’s 34 brain tumours were removed using gamma knife surgery.

He has twice had to pay £15,000 for gamma knife sessions because the operations were not available on the NHS.

 

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A plan was launched for gamma knife surgery to be carried out at Headington’s Manor Hospital. However, it was axed in February over concerns NHS England would not fund the operations for up to 150 county patients a year.

Former bank manager Mr Stone was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2007. He then successfully campaigned for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to agree that the drug Sunitinib could be prescribed on the NHS.

The cancer spread to his brain and after two open brain operations he was referred to Sheffield for gamma knife surgery.

Mr Stone said: “I have no brain tumours at the moment and everything else is stable – I’ve got lots of energy and will keep on campaigning.”

s According to The Sunday Times, the number of patients receiving stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, in which targeted beams of radiation kill cancer cells, has fallen by 10 per cent since April last year.

A total of 645 patients were treated in 2012 to 2013 while 568 patients got the treatment in the year to April.

NHS England was unable to comment yesterday.