THE cancer drugs fund which comes into effect today will offer hope to hundreds of patients looking for new treatments to alleviate their suffering.

Sadly, the £50m fund will not go far enough. Cancer drugs are at the cutting edge of medical science and new treatments are prohibitively expensive.

The average cost of a new cancer drug is between £20,000 and £40,000 per patient per year.

Some experts believe a more realistic figure for the fund would be £600m.

That amount would pay for the drugs turned down by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence over the past five years.

So, clearly, the fund is going to fall a long way short.

And, if that is to be the case, it is imperative the administration of the fund is fair.

Simply dividing the money along regional lines could see a return to the postcode lottery. It risks creating a situation whereby a patient in one region receives a costly drug and another in the neighbouring area misses out.

The sensible thing to do would be to make the fund transferable between different regions. That way, the cash can be apportioned according to need and not demographics. Alternatively, the money could be administered nationally on a case-by-case basis.

Inevitably, even with £50m in the kitty, some patients will be disappointed.

It has its problems, but this new fund is a good starting point.

Its implementation gives cancer patients renewed hope and its introduction is a victory for common sense.