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Bitter pill for cancer sufferer

28/ 7/2005

CANCER victim Wendy Johnson is counting the cost of bitter victory in a battle to be treated with a drug she believes could have saved her life.

Mum-of-two Wendy wanted to take out a £40,000 loan for the drug herceptin, which is not available for free on the NHS, after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

She had a mastectomy and six months of chemotherapy. Before paying £40,000 for the drug, Wendy paid for a scan to make sure the disease had not spread.

Wendy was stunned to be told she now has secondary cancer - a cruel twist of fate that means she now qualifies for free treatment with the drug.

She said: "I feel I have been very badly let down by the system. Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust basically said I was not ill enough to qualify for herceptin, but now I'm terminally ill, I do.

"We paid privately for me to have the scan because there was such a waiting list on the NHS. My consultant told me after I was given the results that I could now have the drug because I have secondary cancer."

Wendy starts treatment at Christie Hospital this week.

"I had hoped that if I had been given the drug early enough it could have prevented any spread of the cancer, but now I know that at best it can only give me long-term remission," she said.

She is determined to live as normal a life as possible for the sake of her husband David and children Ewan, five, and Megan, three.

Trust medical director Anne Rothery said: "We have been in touch with Mrs Johnson and sympathise very much with her situation, and we understand that this is a very difficult time for both her and her family."

She said the decision taken by the PCT had not been based on cost, adding: "At the moment work is underway at a national level to assess the effectiveness and safety of this drug for its use as a preventative measure."