Too little, too late

Amanda D'argue, of Winchester Road, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in July and has been told by her consultant that she would be eligible to take the drug.

But, as it is unlicensed it cannot be prescribed on the NHS and anyone wishing to pay privately faces a bill of £21,000.

Mrs D'argue has undergone a mastectomy and is having gruelling chemotherapy treatment at Christie Hospital, after which she will endure 15 sessions of radiotherapy. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt announced on Wednesday that she intended to "rush through" tests to make sure the drug was available as soon as possible.

At the earliest Herceptin could be prescribed to breast cancer sufferers from July 2006 a long wait for patients like Mrs D'argue.

She said: "I feel very, very angry about this. It is putting a price on someone's life.

"I cannot understand why it should take so long to get a drug licensed.

"To me, having the drug available next July is not rushing it through. It should be available for everyone if it is suitable, and if it can help." For the 39-year-old, who works as a technology and resource manager for a bank and as a Body Shop At Home consultant, the news is another blow in her battle against cancer.

After discovering an initial lump in her breast, the mother-of-two was diagnosed as having breast cancer. While carrying out an operation to remove the affected tissue, doctors realised the cancer had spread to her lymph glands.

Although early indications are that the cancer had not spread further, Mrs D'argue was told this week that she was at high risk of developing cancer again within a short period of time.

She said: "There is a history of breast cancer in my family and my three sisters and I went for regular checks. I always thought that if I got it then it would be picked up at an early stage, I would have it removed and that would be that. But it's not that simple. Mine wasn't picked up on a routine examination and by the time I found a lump, it was too late for a quick fix.

"In my case now, it is all about preventative recurrence. You don't get any definites with cancer, it is all chances are. . .' and the chances are it will return. If Herceptin will help stop the cancer coming back then I will do anything I can to get it."

And if that means paying £21,000 for the treatment, then Mrs D'argue is prepared to do it.

"I'll make sure everyone knows about it though," she said, "My family and I have worked all our lives and I think it is ridiculous that I might have to pay for something that might save my life.

"I am lucky as I have a very good, strong support network of family and friends. But not everyone has that and I dread to think that people go through this on their own. That is why I am speaking out, as it is for everyone, not just me."

In Bolton, cancer sufferer Alyson Cooper (45) is facing a similar battle. A nurse for 25 years, Mrs Cooper said she could have less than two years to live if she doesn't have the wonder drug.

After vowing to pay for the treatment herself she welcomed Patricia Hewitt's announcement but said to benefit she would need to take the drug now, not next july.

She said: "This drug has been shown to prevent further recurrence and it should be available now for every woman who meets the criteria."

Herceptin is currently available only to women with terminal breast cancer as a means of prolonging their life, if they are found to be receptive to the drug.

There are 35,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year and about 20,000 will be eligible for tests to see if Herceptin is suitable, with 5,000 likely to benefit from the drug.

Health experts estimate it could save as many as 1,000 lives every year, at a cost of about £100 million, the same number saved by the national breast screening programme currently carried out by the Department of Health (DoH).