Cancer patients and others with weakness have highlighted the lack of an important drug that they say that their lives have had a “destructive” effect.

An pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (perT), craon, helps in digestion, but is difficult to get for the previous year and is predicted by 2026.

It is believed that more than 61,000 patients in the UK need it, including pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, and chronic pancreatitis.

Some patients said through your voice, your BBC news that they have to travel long distances to find a pharmacist with supply.

The Department of Health and Social Care says it is working closely with NHS, manufacturers and others to try to solve issues in the supply chain.

Without drug, patients lose weight and strength, which means that their ability to deal with treatment such as chemotherapy decreases.

Diana Gib, who is 74 years old, and lives in her husband Mick, 78, Tonbridge, Kent.

Mick had a major operation to treat pancreatic cancer in 2023. Diana wrote to BBC News that it is impossible for Mick to digest food without Craon. She says that a high dose was prescribed to enable her to gain weight after losing four stones in the hospital, but it became difficult to catch the drug.

“We started having trouble getting them in high doses, in which I started to include round pharmacies to find those who can get them. Pharmacies cannot catch that dose. Now they have to double the dosage on the number of tablets taken they have taken, a box now lasts for less than a week.

“Pharmacies cannot get a low dose and there is no alternative medicine. I was worried that my husband would be hungry for death without them.”

Diana says that now they can get the supply of the drug but there is no guarantee from the week to week, and it is still a major concern.

Bryoni Thomas, who is from the stroud in the glosters, requires craraon after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. His cancer is now in exemption, but he is still dependent on the drug to work properly to his digestive system. She says that she had no availability to receive the drug within her county, and she had to get her mother -in -law to travel for two hours for a pharmacy in Crave.

In one phase, she says that she received the drug from another patient who had a surplus, against the rules via Instagram. She describes her position as a “constant stress”.

Pancreatic cancer, including leading physicians and charity, including the UK, wrote to the Prime Minister that the absence of PERT can have “destructive effects on people’s lives”, with doctors and pharmacists “submergence with requests for the help of despeted patients”.

The letter states that without drug, people experience “horrific bowel symptoms, poor diabetes control, malnutrition, and absorption of other drugs, which can all have a large -scale impact on their health and quality of life”.

There are other forms of Pert, but charity and medical experts say that many brands are available in other countries, “has a very high market share” in the UK Craon. They say that with the low running of Craon, the option shares have been reduced by switching by patients. They are calling for a national process to import pert.

Cystic Fibrosis Trust states that deficiency has caused “significant anxiety and stress for the affected people”.

Charity has told patients that “the lack of raw ingredients is stressing the manufacturing process and interrupting the global supply chains”.

The production of Craon is said to have a lot of rely on pancreatic enzymes made from pigs. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, meanwhile, is calling the government to adopt a national strategy to manage the lack of drug.

A spokesperson for health and social care said: “We know how disappointing and disturbing the issues of drug supply for patients can be, and pharmacists and physicians are taking care of them.

“We have issued guidance to healthcare professionals and encouraged anyone to consult our doctor.”