A ONE-minute cancer drug injection will speed up treatment for thousands of NHS patients.
Pembrolizumab, given to about 14,000 patients a year, will be available as a quicker jab instead of a half-hour infusion.
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A cancer drug injection will speed up treatment for thousands of NHS patients Credit: Getty
Shirley Xerxes was one of the first to get the injection Credit: PA
It tells the immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells and could fight lung, breast, head, neck and cervical cancer.
One of the first to get the injection was Shirley Xerxes, 89, of St Albans, Herts, who has bowel cancer.
She was treated at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, part of East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust.
She said: ““Having the injection has been great and the nurse was so good.
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“I’m very appreciative.
“Now I can spend more time on gardening.”
Another patient being treated at Mount Vernon, Stephen Friend, 67, who has melanoma, said: “This new process takes away a lot of the stress.”
“I’ve not really used the NHS up until now. And it’s just been amazing.”
NHS cancer chief Peter Johnson said: “This is a lifeline for thousands who can get back to living lives rather than spending hours at hospital.”
The treatment is given every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute jab, depending on the cancer type.
