Orange Monte Carlo Android Phone is AWESOME!

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I got my new Orange Monte Carlo Phone this week and I have to say that it a brilliant bit of kit!.
My previous phone was the Orange San Francisco, also an Android phone but with a much smaller screen,lower resolution camera and it ran Android 2.2 (i routed it to Swedish Spring Froyo 2.2 from the original Eclair 2.1 system which it is shipped with by Orange).

The new phone specs are not market leading, but having had it now for a few days I am pretty impressed what Orange are able to supply for under £120....namely....

5 Mega Pixal Camera
4.3" LCD touch Screen
800 Mhz Processor
Android 2.3 (gingerbread...sadly loaded with unwanted Orange branded apps!...will sort that later!)
nice solid feeling case. Some reviews contradict this statement but I stand by my observation :-)

If you fancy an all singing Android with a few more bells and whistles then buy an HTC or a Samsung. If you want a bloody nice phone which can do 90% of the functions (minus, flash, sadly!)of it's more expensive brethren  AND want change out of £120 quid then this is the phone for you.

The Orange Monte Carlo then. Buy one now and laugh at all of those mad Apple iphone lemmings who still think they are soooooo cool :-).

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NICE deny Leukaemia Patients Life Saving Cancer Drugs

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NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) have recently returned their provisional results on Nilotinib and Dasatinib as alternative therapy for Imatinib (Glivec / Gleevec) intolerant patients. Basically they are denying these patients a chance of life on what I can see as purely a cost issue.

The CML Support Group has set up an Online Petition against this which I implore you to sign.

A representative of the CML Support Group said ‘Patients are angry, frightened and very frustrated by the provisional recommendation by the NICE appraisal committee- a recommendation that seems to us to have much more to do with cost cutting than with a rational appraisal of two highly effective and innovative therapies.

If the recommendation is upheld, and NHS funding of these therapies is refused in cases of imatinib intolerance, it will undoubtedly cost lives. It is a shocking prospect that UK citizens, who prove to be intolerant to standard dose imatinib (Glivec) will be denied access to such effective and life-saving alternatives. Clinicians will find themselves unable to offer these therapies to their patients in the knowledge that expert clinicians in Germany, France, the Netherlands and other EU countries, will continue to treat CML patients with these life-saving therapies. NICE have clearly acknowledged that both nilotinib (Tasigna) and dasatinib (Sprycel) are clinically effective and very well tolerated oral therapies.

It is difficult to understand why NICE have singled out imatinib (Glivec) intolerant patients in chronic or accelerated phase CML (but not blast phase) for a provisional recommendation that they alone should be denied access to these life-saving therapies. As a consequence, this group of patients, who currently represent around 30-40 British citizens of all ages, will suffer an appalling injustice that puts them at great risk of dying from acute (blast) phase CML.

We call upon the Secretary of State for Health to ensure all CML patients intolerant of Glivec (imatinib) have equality of access to these life-saving drugs.

This reminds me of the issues I had back in 2001 when trying to get Glivec. You can read the outcome on My Leukaemia Story.

It is difficult to put into words how this makes you feel as a patient. Jed’s story on the video below sum’s up the issues and feelings and I strongly recommend watching the short clip.

This Story was sourced via Harvey's Charity Fundraising Blog.Click HERE to visit.

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Rituxan gains approval for most common leukaemia

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Roche’s blockbuster cancer treatment MabThera/Rituxan has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult leukaemia.

The drug earned Roche $5.6 billion in revenues last year, based on its numerous licensed indications including Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Now the drug is set to extend its reach further, and could offer patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) significantly longer survival.

CLL is the most common form of adult leukaemia and accounts for around 30-40% of leukaemia cases in Western countries and is currently deemed incurable.

The treatment aim is to control the disease and extend patient life expectancy with progression-free survival.

Rituxan (rituxmab) will be used as either previously untreated (first-line) patients or previously treated (relapsed or refractory) CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) alongside fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) chemotherapy.

Phase III studies presented in December 2009 showed patients with CLL treated with Rituxan plus chemotherapy live significantly longer without their disease progressing compared with those treated with chemotherapy alone. 87.2% of patients with previously untreated CLL who received Rituxan plus FC were alive after more than three years of follow up (37.7 months) compared to 82.5 percent of patients who received FC alone.

The drug was approved in Europe (where it is known as MabThera) for first-line and relapsed and refractory CLL last year, and gained approval from UK cost effectiveness body NICE in July 2009.

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UK Body NICE Says Novartis, Bristol Cancer Drugs Too Expensive

The U.K.'s health-cost regulator said Tuesday it was unable to recommend two expensive cancer drugs fromNovartis AG (NVS) and one from U.S.-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) for use within the state-run National Health Service in England and Wales.



The independent National Institute for Clinical Excellence, known by its acronym NICE, provisionally rejected Switzerland-based Novartis' Tasigna and U.S.-based Bristol-Myers Squibb' Sprycel for chronic myeloid leukaemia in patients who are intolerant to imatinib--an older Novartis drug whose brand name is Gleevec--saying evidence to support their effectiveness was "very poor" and their cost was "extremely high".
The independent agency also rejected Novartis's tumor treatment Afinitor as a second-line treatment for advanced kidney cancer in a draft ruling.
Commenting on Afinitor, NICE director Peter Littlejohns in a statement said "NHS resources are limited and NICE has to decide which treatments represent best value to the patient as well as the NHS. Although evidence implies that this treatment is clinically effective, there is limited data about how long it can extend life."
Turning to the body's decision not to recommend Tasigna and Sprycel, Littlejohns said that "we need to be sure they are effective. It would be heartening to hear that the pharmaceutical company manufacturers are prepared to share some of the very high cost of the drugs with the NHS."
NICE has previously struck deals with drug makers to cut the cost of treatments before recommending them for use in the National Health Service.

-By Sten Stovall, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9292; sten.stovall@dowjones.com

NICE Appraisal Of Dasatinib And Nilotinib For Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has updated its draft guidance on the use of dasatinib (Sprycel,made by Bristol Myers-Squibb) and nilotinib (Tasigna,made by Novartis) for chronic myeloidleukaemia.


Following the previous public consultation and subsequent independent Appraisal Committee meeting on 13 January 2010, both NICE and the appraisal committee agreed to split the appraisal of dasatinib and nilotinib for chronic myeloid leukaemia into two separate appraisals.

To effectively appraise a new treatment, the Committee compares it to an existing one. In this case, high dose imatinib (glivec, 600 mg or 800 mg per day) has been identified as a comparator for dasatinib and nilotinib for people who are 'resistant' to imatinib (standard treatment with imatinib (400 mg per day) has stopped working), although it clearly cannot be a comparator for people who cannot tolerate imatinib. 


To read more click HERE to view the full report on the Medical News Today Website.

Drug apartheid hits victims of leukaemia in England (daily Mail Online)

Leukaemia sufferers in England will be denied potentially life-saving drugs freely available in Scotland.


The proposal to ban English patients from getting the medication on the NHS has been branded 'stupid and heartless'.
Doctors and campaigners say the Government rationing body's measures will worsen the postcode lottery, with patients north of the border able to get dasatinib and nilotinib that could add years to their lives.

The preliminary guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence affects patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.


Although the drugs cost £30,000 a year, only a maximum of 300 patients a year are likely to need them.

They have failed to respond to treatment with another drug, called Glivec, or become resistant to it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1235589/Drug-apartheid-hits-victims-leukaemia-England.html#ixzz0aFrwPuV4








Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1235589/Drug-apartheid-hits-victims-leukaemia-England.html#ixzz0aFred1Vq