I WAS recently invited along to the first Open Day at the Oxford Cancer Centre. This was probably not my first choice of places to go on a Saturday, but it did prove to be an interesting experience.

We were given a number of presentations from senior clinicians, and it was fascinating to learn just how far cancer treatment has come over the last 20 years or so. We were told about advances in radiology, with enhanced imaging tools, to identify and monitor cancers.

We were advised about the latest treatments, including keyhole surgery, radiotherapy, stem cell treatment, and the new targeted drug therapies.

Oxford is one of the largest cancer centres in the UK and has a wide catchment area for patient referrals. It has new, state-of-the-art, operating theatres, together with the brand new Da Vinci Robotic surgical system, that has pride of place in its own dedicated theatre.

Later, we were able to go on a tour of the theatres and see at first hand the awesome and futuristic looking robot, an expensive piece of kit costing almost £2m, which enables surgeons to perform more precise keyhole surgery to remove certain cancers.

Let’s just hope that such treatment will soon be available on the NHS so that more patients will be able to benefit from this latest technology. It proved to be an enjoyable day, and congratulations and thanks should go to all the staff, patients, and volunteers for making it such a success.

We are very fortunate to have such a good cancer centre here in Oxfordshire. But it was so disappointing to sit and listen to news of all the latest research being undertaken – especially in targeted drug treatments, and at the same time to read in the news that Nice continues to reject new cancer drugs.

Earlier in the same week I took part in a patient day in London, hosted by the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer. Again, we listened to leading oncologists talking about research and the latest drug treatments.

However, we still only have the one option available, Sunitinib, a drug that we had to fight so hard to get.

The most rewarding part of our day in London was an inspirational talk by two kidney cancer patients from Canada.

Like us they were so frustrated by the lack of access to new drugs that they set up a lobby group which now has over 800 members. One speaker told us that her own cancer was diagnosed 35 years ago, and it had spread to other parts of her body 12 years ago! She is fit and well and spends her time travelling to support others. They both looked very well and said they owed their survival to being treated with the latest targeted therapy drugs, as and when they become available.

So, come on Nice let’s start saying ‘YES’ to these drugs, for there are not many of us with rarer cancers.

If only we could reduce some of the Public Sector waste of £60bn per year, identified by the Shadow Treasury Minister, then perhaps many ordinary citizens could live a little longer!