Please could you advise on the latest information for the treatment break rule for Cetuximab. The last I heard i was only allowed to have a 6 week break from treatment. I have read this has been suspended to allow a bresk snd return without costs
Please could you advise on the latest information for the treatment break rule for Cetuximab. The last I heard i was only allowed to have a 6 week break from treatment. I have read this has been suspended to allow a bresk snd return without costs
Hi Woodnut,
Thank you for getting in touch with us and welcome back to the online community. I’m Adrienne, one of the Cancer Information Nurses at Macmillan.
The National Cancer Drugs Fund list states that if a break from cetuximab for longer than 6 weeks is needed, then the hospital team would need to complete a treatment break form in order to restart the treatment. You can read more about this on page 87 of this document.
Until recently, if an unplanned break was needed, the patient would have to apply for an individual funding request (IFR) to restart treatment however this wasn’t always granted.
Bowel Cancer UK have been campaigning to have the treatment break policy removed. You can read more about that here.
I hope this information was helpful. Please know that you can always give us a call and talk to one of our nurses about this in more detail.
Take care and best wishes,
Adrienne
Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. We are available on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
Ref: AMc/KA
