Mum with cancer denied drug on NHS and could be forced to sell house to pay

2023-06-15

Mum with lung cancer denied funding for treatment

GB News heard from two mums battling a rare type of lung cancer recently after both were denied potentially life-saving drugs on the NHS.

The cancer both had been diagnosed with was located in their lungs, despite it typically being found in the breast of others.

Therefore, while the drug – named Ehertu – has been licenced for the treatment of breast cancer, mums Elaine and Julie were both denied it on the NHS as it hadn’t been greenlit for lung cancer treatment.

Elaine told the broadcaster: “I want to live as long as I can to make memories with my family and my children and if this drug is the thing going to give me that then obviously that’s what we need to get.”

As a result of the licensing agreement, Elaine and Julia would have to pay £9,000 every three weeks for a cycle of the drugs.

The battle has taken its toll on both Julie and Elaine, with the latter sharing that a GoFundMe page had been set up for her.

GB News also reported that the company behind the drug’s manufacture, Daiichi-Sankyo, wouldn’t release it on “compassionate grounds”.

Elaine’s partner Chris Goodwin weighed in: “The fighting of the NHS to get this drug through the NHS has took over our lives.”

The drug has been approved in the US for lung cancer treatment, however, as Dr Susan Scott, Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center pointed out it “doesn’t work for every patient but for those it does, it’s really a fantastic treatment”.

Julia, who shared fears she’d have to sell her house in a desperate attempted to buy the drug, tearfully said: “I’m on borrowed time now.

“I’ve got a family, so they’re driving everything I do. I just want the best chance, you know, if there’s a drug out there that can possibly give you more time, I just want to try it.

“I guess people that make these decisions, these drug companies, they’re sort of so far removed from it that they forget this is people’s lives that they’re playing with.

“You never think it’s going to happen to you, do you? You kind of know it could but you never think that it is gonna happen to you. You’ve just gotta try and live your life, but it’s hard, it’s very hard, especially as there could be something out there that could help me and I can’t get it.”

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Julie, who shared fears she’d have to sell her house in a desperate attempt to buy the drug, tearfully said: “I’m on borrowed time now.

“I’ve got a family, so they’re driving everything I do. I just want the best chance, you know, if there’s a drug out there that can possibly give you more time, I just want to try it.

“I guess people that make these decisions, these drug companies, they’re sort of so far removed from it that they forget this is people’s lives that they’re playing with.

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A Daiichi-Sankyo UK spokesperson responded to the report, telling GB News: “Our thoughts are with the patient and their family, we appreciate the significant impact this devastating condition has on the lives of individuals living with cancer, as well as their families and loved ones.

“We are working diligently to try to bring this medicine to as many appropriate people as possible.

“We are going through the appropriate regulatory channels in order to obtain a UK license.

“We are unable to speculate on the timelines or outcome of our applications, however, we are committed to working closely with the regulatory authorities to support the process.”

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