NHS denies woman life-saving drug to treat breast cancer
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Elaine Barbour, 41, from Staffordshire, said the decision by North Stoke Primary Care Trust (PCT) "does not make any sense whatsoever" and said she would to fight it through the courts.
"I cannot believe that my life is being measured in pounds. I intend to fight this decision and will take this battle to the High Court, not only for myself but also for the many other women who will die if this essential drug is not made available," she said yesterday.
But the trust said it could not justify the £20,000-a- year cost of the drug against the needs of other cancer patients within its limited budget. It said the drug's long-term safety and cost-effectiveness had not been demonstrated.
Last night, the Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, intervened in the row and demanded to see the evidence the trust had used to make their decision. "I am very concerned by North Stoke PCT's decision," she said. "It conflicts with decisions made by other PCTs around the country. We have already arranged an urgent meeting with the PCT and strategic health authority later this week to discuss their approach to funding Herceptin."
Ms Barber, from Stoke-on-Trent, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2004 and is currently in remission. Her doctor recommended that she should be treated with Herceptin. Responding to the trust's concern about the safety of the drug, Ms Barbour said: "Is it safer to give me the drug or safer not to give it to me - and let me die? I know which option I prefer to take. I need this drug to help me survive."
Herceptin has been hailed as a potential cure for breast cancer after trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month showed it reduced the chances of cancer returning by 50 per cent among women with early-stage Her2-positive disease.
The drug is currently licensed only for use in women with advanced breast cancer. An application to extend the licence to women with early breast cancer is due to be submitted in February. In the meantime, doctors can prescribe it to individual named patients if their local PCT agrees to pay the cost.
Last month, Ms Hewitt ordered NHS trusts not to withhold Herceptin on grounds of cost alone where a woman's doctor recommended it. She said all women in England with early breast cancer would be tested to see if Herceptin would benefit them.
The treatment is due to be assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), the UK's drugs watchdog, next summer.
In a statement yesterday, Stoke PCT said it had reviewed the evidence and recognised that Herceptin had the potential to be a "significant advance".
"At this stage, however, the evidence of this as a cost-effective use of the finite resources available for North Stoke patients is not confirmed," it continued. "It would therefore be premature to agree to introduce it as a routine treatment. To do so could seriously affect the availability of care to other patients, including those with other cancers.
"The PCT regrets that in the circumstances presented and in the light of this analysis, it is unable to approve funding for this treatment in this instance."
The trust supported the use of Herceptin for women with advanced breast cancer and would continue to monitor the situation, it said.
Ms Barbour's solicitor, Yogi Amin, of the law firm Irwin Mitchell, said he had applied to the High Court for an urgent hearing. "We intend to ask the court to consider the case within the week. We will argue under the Human Rights Act for Elaine to receive this life-saving treatment," he said.