Ontario mayor who pushed for access to pancreatic cancer treatment has died

TRENT HILLS, Ont. - An eastern Ontario mayor who aggressively campaigned for access to a pancreatic cancer treatment has died.

The municipality of Trent Hills says in a statement that Hector Macmillan died on Tuesday at his home in Campbellford.

Macmillan was denied OHIP funding to access a trial program for a procedure called Irreversible Electroporation -- also known as NanoKnife -- outside Canada, and did not mince words, accusing the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care of murdering him.

He ultimately raised money online to fund the surgery in Germany last year, and said afterward his prognosis was "five plus years."

Following Macmillan's high-profile push for access to the treatment, the University Health Network announced a clinical NanoKnife trial for pancreatic cancer patients, with up to $2.1 million in funding from the provincial government.

The minimally invasive treatment delivers an electric current to the tumour using two fine needles guided by ultrasound or CT scan, shrinking inoperable tumours without damaging surrounding tissues, which means it could be an option for patients who aren't candidates for conventional treatment or for whom other treatments haven't worked.