Regular readers will remember my mini-rant about the UK Alimta scandal - the drug was not universally available in the UK, leaving some sufferers having to purchase it from their life savings.

Today I have learned that NICE - the National Institute for Clinical Excellence - who make recommendations on drug availability, have rethought their original ruling that the drug should only be available for clinical trials. They now recommend Alimta for patients who are able to carry out day-to-day tasks but whose cancer is advanced and where surgery is inappropriate.

This has to be a step in the right direction and is wonderful news for the 2,000 or so people who receive a diagnosis of mesothelioma each year in the UK.

If there are no appeals against this new guidance, it will be issued to the NHS very soon.