A ROWLEDGE journalist who embarked on a personal campaign after being denied the treatment recommended for his prostate cancer has succeeded in his appeal against the decision. Bill Elliott, a sports writer for The Observer, spoke out through local and national press and on the radio, after Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust (PCT) turned him down for the treatment recommended by three consultants and his GP. His case was made all the more significant because his wife, Val, had been diagnosed with breast cancer within an hour of his own diagnosis and by contrast, her treatment was under way and progressing well. Mr Elliott insisted that on principle he would not pay the £11,000 cost of receiving brachytherapy. The therapy costs £2,000 more than radical prostate surgery, but carries fewer potential hazards and is available on the NHS in certain areas only. He received the news that he had succeeded from the PCT last Friday, and although delighted, remained concerned that fellow prostate cancer sufferers might not be so fortunate. "It is the right outcome for me personally, but the battle continues to go on for men to have brachytherapy offered as a right. "I will continue, as one of my friends says, to be 'a useful nuisance', to support the work of the Prostate Cancer Charity in trying to get the politicians on board." A spokesman for the PCT said that a review of the funding of new, complex and relatively expensive treatments has been taking place as part of the discussions with the Royal Surrey County Hospital on service level agreements for 2006/07. "Within the service level agreement for this financial year, it very clearly sets out that these treatments, of which brachytherapy is one, will be considered on a case-by-case basis which is consistent with the approach taken by the other west Surrey PCTs. "As a result of this, Guildford & Waverley PCT has, in line with the appeals process, reviewed five previously rejected requests for brachytherapy treatment and these requests have now been approved. "The PCT has always and will continue to review its processes to ensure clinically appropriate and cost-effective decisions are made when approving funding for these types of treatments."