CANCER drug campaigner Kay Hopkins has been told her tumour has shrunk by an inch since she began taking Sutent.

The 71-year-old's life-threatening tumour is now down to three inches in size after being four inches before she began taking the drug five-and-a-half months ago.

The great-grandmother's dosage was initially reduced after she became ill with side effects.

Doctors are so pleased with her progress they now say they may drop the dose again.

In The Sentinel in May, Kay described how experts had told her it appeared to be getting smaller. But they confirmed the good news on Thursday, when Kay went to see specialists at Manchester's Christie hospital.

She said: "I was due for a visit and while I was there I said 'Have you got any good news for me?' and they said they had. I'm over the moon about it."

Kay, of Willowcroft Way, Harriseahead, will have a scan on July 15 to find out if the tumour has shrunk further.

She is getting the drug as part of a trial at Christie after an unsuccessful battle to get Sutent, which had previously not been approved by the National Institute for Healthcare and Clinical Excellence (NICE), funded by NHS North Staffordshire.

Her campaign brought her face-to-face with NICE bosses and took her to 10 Downing Street.