A Shropshire grandfather has taken his battle against cancer to Parliament to plead to be given the chance to test a new “wonder drug”.

Roger Walker, 62, who has already lost a father, brother and uncle to prostate cancer, is now fighting the disease himself after being diagnosed with the disease 10-and-a-half months after his initial approach to his doctor.

Mr Walker, of Shrewsbury, wrote an emotional letter to his MP Daniel Kawcynski, who highlighted Mr Walker’s case and “extraordinary suffering” to Whitehall health chiefs last night.

The MP led a House of Commons debate on the diagnosis of prostate cancer and trials of the drug abiraterone.

Trials of the pill have shown that it can shrink tumours in up to 80 per cent of cases and end the need for damaging chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

A 1,200-patient international study, spearheaded by leading researcher Dr Johann de Bono from the Royal Marsden Hospital, is under way, and Mr Walker wants to be a part of it.

He has an appointment to discuss the trial at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital at the end of February.

Mr Kawczynski called on ministers to speed up Mr Walker’s referral.

The Shrewsbury and Atcham MP said an article about abiraterone had given Mr Walker “significant hope”.

If it is licensed as expected in 2011, it will have to await approval by watchdog NICE before it is made freely available across the NHS.

Mr Kawczynski said the almost year-long wait to eventual diagnosis had taken its toll on Mr Walker, a grandfather of five.

He said: “I very much hope that he will be allowed to be one of the people in the United Kingdom who is involved in this international study, and be given the drug abiraterone so that his life can be prolonged.”

The MP said he had written to Dr de Bono who had agreed to consider Mr Walker for the trial if he is referred and he had asked the RSH to bring his appointment forward.

Health Minister Mike O’Brien said he did not have the power to influence ongoing trials.

The General Medical Council is considering investigating a complaint about Mr Walker’s diagnosis.

By London reporter Sunita Patel