Mr King was prepared to move to Scotland for the treatment

George King from Skelton has multiple myeloma - an incurable bone cancer.

He planned to move after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said Velcade would cost too much for the NHS in England.

But on Monday, NICE endorsed a scheme which should ensure multiple myeloma patients can be prescribed the drug.

A single course of treatment can cost around �25,000.

Final decision

In January, NICE, which recommends drugs the NHS should prescribe, argued that Velcade is too expensive when measured against how long it can prolong life.

But under the terms of the new recommendation, proposed by drugmaker Janssen-Cilag, patients showing minimal or no response would be taken off it - and the costs would be refunded by the manufacturer.

NICE is now recommending multiple myeloma patients in England and Wales should get Velcade on the NHS.

Velcade has performed well in trials

Mr King said: "We'd actually been to Scotland, looked at properties, visited lots of estate agents, got brochures and decided on an area we wanted to move to.

"I'm becoming a grandfather for the first time in August - that's one of the reasons I'm so happy, because it means I won't have to be up in Scotland.

"And hopefully I'll respond positively and it will give me two more years of life."

Life expectancy for multiple myeloma patients is three to five years, but in trials Velcade has been shown to extend that by many months.

The final decision on whether to put the refund scheme into practice rests with the manufacturer and the Department of Health, with final NICE guidance expected in October.