Latest news from the Sentinel and other sources on "Women Fighting for Herceptin"

(posted 05/04/06)

Ann's Herceptin anguish goes on
29 Mar : Cancer victim Ann Rogers faces further anguish in her fight to be given wonder drug Herceptin on the NHS. Three Law Lords have reserved their judgment, but have promised to give their decision "as soon as possible." The 54-year-old mother of three has likened the stand taken by Swindon Primary Care Trust (PCT) to "a death sentence".

'Decision a breach of Ann's right to life'
28 Mar : A Decision by West health chiefs not to provide breast cancer victim Ann Rogers with the wonder drug Herceptin was "arbitrary in the extreme", London's Court of Appeal was told yesterday. Unless she received the drug, it was "more likely than not" that the Swindon mother of three would be dead within 10 years, according to her counsel, David Pannick QC.

Breast cancer mum back in High Court for Herceptin battle
27 Mar : A Breast cancer victim returns to the High Court tod ay to continue her fight to force her local NHS trust to fund the drug Herceptin. Ann Marie Rogers, 54, a mother-of-three with two young grandchildren, is taking her plight to the Court of Appeal after losing her case last month.

(posted 22/03/06)
Women take Herceptin claim to EU
22 Mar: A group of women with breast cancer say they will take their fight for the drug Herceptin to the European courts.

(posted 22/03/06)
Herceptin gift for sick mother
A young girl's letter to her MP prompts a businessman to pay for her mother to be given the anti-cancer drug Herceptin.

Sentinel  (posted 21/03/06)
Now MS care is being withdrawn
20 Mar : Sir, - I would like to say that I am really pleased for the ladies who have recently got the go- ahead to receive Herceptin. However, I am very concerned to discover that the funding for Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has been withdrawn.

Observer (posted 12/03/06)
Women go private to get 'miracle' drug  
12 Mar: Breast cancer victims who would currently be refused the 'miracle' drug Herceptin by the NHS have been treated by their private medical insurers instead.

(posted 12/03/06)
Daughter's Herceptin appeal to MP
Mar 9: An MP today pledged to continue his fight for the right of a breast cancer sufferer to be given Herceptin after he received a letter from her 10-year-old daughter asking him for help.

(posted 09/03/06)
My mum has breast cancer, please save her
Mar 9:A girl of ten has written a heartfelt letter to her MP pleading with him to help her mother Susan, obtain a breast cancer 'wonder drug'. Katie Morgan said: 'We would like my mum to be here when we grow up'.....read

(posted 09/03/06)
Daughter, 10, in Herceptin plea
Mar 9:  Katie wants help to raise £47,000 to fund the drug for her mother A 10-year-girl from Shropshire is planning to raise thousands of pounds to try to provide medical treatment that might save her mother's life.

The Guardian (posted 08/03/06)
Woman seeking cancer drug must wait for ruling Guardian,
Mar 7:  The second woman to take her fight for the breast cancer drug Herceptin to the high court has been told she must wait for the outcome of Ann Marie Rogers' appeal at the end of the month. Solicitors for Elisabeth Cooke, 59, a mother of two from Bristol, said that much was resting on the appeal. Both women want access to Herceptin for early stage breast cancer. At the moment it (...)

The second woman to take her fight for the breast cancer drug Herceptin to the high court has been told she must wait for (...)

IC Wales (posted 08/03/06)
Jayne's Herceptin crusade goes on
Mar 8 2006 Breast cancer drug campaigner Jayne Sullivan was taking her fight to a major health conference in Cardiff ...

Monday, 6 March 2006
Mar 6 2006 I WOULD like to thank the Echo for publishing my letter asking for volunteers to assist with driving ...

Nurse begins Herceptin court battle
Mar 5 2006 A nurse fighting breast cancer is going to the High Court on Monday in her fight for the right to be ...

Western Daily Press (posted 08/03/06)
Herceptin challenge is on hold
7 Mar : A Nurse fighting breast cancer has had her High Court battle for the right to be prescribed the "wonder drug" Herceptin put on hold. A judge adjourned an application for judicial review lodged by Elisabeth Cooke, 59, from Bristol.

Scotland thriving at expense of England
6 Mar : Sir - An English band D council tax bill has risen 84 per cent since Tony Blair came to power in 1997. Scottish bills have risen a mere 40 per cent during the same period. Over the past nine years, council tax in England has been used as a stealth tax against our population.

Now it is my turn to fight for vital Herceptin NHS has denied me
6 Mar : Breast cancer victim Elisabeth Cooke today launches her High Court battle to be prescribed the potentially lifesaving Herceptin. The Bristol nurse will demand her right to the drug before a top judge in the latest in a series of legal fights since she was diagnosed with the disease in March 2005. Even though Ms Cooke had been advised by an oncologist to take Herceptin, North Bristol Primary Care Trust (PCT) refused to supply it.

Herceptin battle goes to High Court appeal
4 Mar : Breast cancer suffered Ann Rogers is to take her fight for the wonder drug Herceptin to the Court of Appeal. Last month the 54-year-old mother-of-three from North Swindon lost her ground-breaking challenge, in the High Court, against the decision by Swindon Primary Health Care Trust not to pay for the drug.

IC Huddersfield (posted 08/03/06)
Nurse begins Herceptin court battle
Mar 5 2006: A nurse fighting breast cancer is going to the High Court on Monday in her fight for the right to be ...

Western Daily Press (posted 02/03/06)
Hewitt's pledge on Herceptin funding
2 Mar : Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt yesterday repeated guidelines stating that health managers should not use cost as an excuse for refusing to give patients the controversial breast cancer drug Herce ptin. Last month Ann Marie Rogers lost her High Court battle over Swindon Primary Care Trust's refusal to fund Herceptin treatment, which is not currently licensed for use in treating early-stage breast cancer.

IC Wales (posted 02/03/06)
Cancer campaign is taken to Number 10
Mar 2:  Campaigner Jayne Sullivan made a trip to Downing Street with a fellow breast cancer sufferer in their ...

Guardian (posted 02/03/06)
The sceptic
March 2: Ethically, as the battle over Oxford university's controversial new bio-medical research centre has shown, it depends which side of the argument you are on. But morals aside, now we can do all sorts of clever things with cell cultures and computer simulations, do we need to use living creatures to drive medical science forwards? The government certainly thinks so, as (...)

IC Wales (posted 01/03/06)
Hewitt: cost is no reason to refuse Herceptin
Mar 1:  Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today repeated guidelines stating that health managers should not use ...

No 10 cancer visit
Mar 1 2006 Breast cancer sufferers were due to visit 10 Downing Street today in a bid to make drugs for the disease ...

BBC Website (posted 01/03/06)
BC News - Doctors get Herceptin permission
Mar 1: Doctors in Jersey are given permission to prescribe the breast cancer drug Herceptin whenever necessary and given £300,000 to pay for it.

Guardian (posted 01/03/06)
How Nice works
Mar 1:  How Nice fulfils its aim to ensure the best health treatments are available to NHS patients

IC Wales (posted 28/2/06)
Assembly has wasted cash
 Feb 28: In a world where satellites and cameras monitor and capture every movement of ordinary citizens in the ... Review of decision on tumour drug

Welsh research unlocking cancer secrets
Feb 27: Cancer research is yielding new discoveries and breakthroughs every day in both our understanding of ...

Sentinel (posted 28/2/06)
Herceptin mum to marry
27 Feb : A Breast cancer sufferer who won her fight against the NHS to force them to fund potentially life-saving drugs is set to marry. Elaine Barber, aged 42, will tie the knot with 38-year-old Levi Slinger after he proposed just six weeks into their relationship.

IC Wales (posted 26/2/06)
Stand up and be counted!
Feb 26:  We already have the Herceptin scandal where desperate cancer patients are refused a possible cure because ...

Protester to march on No 10
Feb 25:  A breast cancer sufferer is to visit 10 Downing Street in a bid to make drugs for the disease available ...

Brain tumour patient is denied vital drug
Feb 24:  Just two months ago, banking director Tom Dargavel had few concerns apart from the imminent arrival ...

Herceptin there for all in Wales who need it
Feb 23:  All women in Wales will have access to the anti-breast cancer drug Herceptin if they need it.

Herceptin go ahead in Wales
Feb 22:  Health chiefs have acted to end an NHS "postcode lottery" by agreeing to make breast cancer drug Herceptin ...

Sunday Mirror (posted 26/2/06)
Painful choices
26 Feb: It's not enough that this Government and the NHS are now effectively killing women with HER2 breast cancer by refusing to give ....

IC Newcastle - Evening Chronicle (posted 26/2/06)
Herceptin go ahead in Wales
Feb 22: Health chiefs have acted to end an NHS "postcode lottery" by agreeing to make breast cancer drug Herceptin ...

Vent your Spleen
Feb 21: Ann Marie Rogers from Swindon has breast cancer and needs Herceptin. She has been refused treatment by the NHS because of ...

Western Daily Press (posted 26/2/06)
A nice mess you've got to sort out
25 Feb : Being told that you have a malignant and fast-growing brain tumour is pretty much the worst news imaginable. But being informed by your cancer specialist that, yes, drugs could prolong your life but, no, the NHS won't pay for them, is scarcely less cruel.

BBC Website (posted 22/2/06)
Woman wins battle for Herceptin
22 Feb: Protesters had complained at a post-code lottery for the drug Doctors in mid and west Wales have been cleared to provide the breast cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS to women in early stages of the disease.

IC Huddersfield
Herceptin go ahead in Wales
22 Feb:  Health chiefs have acted to end an NHS "postcode lottery" by agreeing to make breast cancer drug Herceptin available to women in the early stages of the disease

IC Wales
Mum to get cancer drug decision today
22 Feb: A mother of two will learn today whether she and other breast cancer patients will be allowed the life-saving drug Herceptin.

Daily Mail
Herceptin to get go ahead in Wales
22 Feb:  Health chiefs have acted to end an NHS "postcode lottery" by agreeing to make breast cancer drug Herceptin available to women in the early stages of the disease.

Daily Mirror
Don't trust them
22 Feb:  What does the failure of Anne Marie Rogers's battle to receive the cancer drug Herceptin tell us? All we need to know.

BBC Website

Cancer vigil woman meets minister
20 Feb: Jayne Sullivan was diagnosed with cancer in May 2005 The woman who staged a seven-day sit-in at the assembly over the availability of breast cancer drug Herceptin has met the Wales health minister.

Richard & Judy Show Channel 4
20 Feb: Herceptin has been touted as a ‘wonder drug’ for its power to fight breast cancer, but NHS rules mean that it is being denied to hundreds of women. This situation seems set to continue because on Wednesday, Ann Marie Rogers lost her court battle to receive the treatment. We talk to cancer sufferer Dr Sarah Burnett about the issues involved.

Sentinel

Future of health care is in all our hands
20 Feb : The current pressures on the NHS are very much about finance and human resources. In some areas there is not enough staff to deliver the range of specialist care that people need. Many people employed by the NHS, particularly at the ward level feel they don't have enough quality time to spend with patients. Staff, both junior and senior, feel they are always on the go and having to rush from one task to another.

IC Newcastle - The Sunday Sun

Lottery with life or death jackpot
Feb 19: How do pen-pushers who may have condemned cancer patient Ann Marie Rogers to death sleep at night?

Western Daily Press

Fast-track bid for Herceptin gives hope for cancer victims
18 Feb : Fresh hopes have arisen for West breast cancer sufferers as the makers of Herceptin look to fast-track the treatment onto the NHS. Earlier this week, Swindon mother-of-three Ann Marie Rogers lost a High Court challenge over her local NHS trust's refusal to fund the treatment, which is only licensed for use in later stages of the illness.

Daily Mail

Herceptin set for NHS fast track?
17/02/2006 : The makers of breast cancer drug Herceptin have applied for an early-use licence, which could fast-track it for use across the NHS. The move comes after mother-of-three Ann Marie Rogers lost her legal challenge over her local NHS trust's refusal to fund treatment with the drug because it was not formally licensed.....read

BBC Website

Herceptin maker asks for licence
17 Feb: The maker of breast cancer drug Herceptin applies for a licence for it to treat early stages of the disease.

The Journal

Herceptin set for NHS fast track?
Feb 17 2006: The makers of breast cancer drug Herceptin announced they had applied for an early-use licence, which ...

Western Daily Press

Agony for Ann
16 Feb : Devastated West breast cancer victim Ann Rogers vowed to fight on last night in her battle to receive the wonder drug Herceptin - despite a shattering blow from a High Court judge. The mother-of-three lost her pioneering legal challenge against a decision by health chiefs in Swindon not to prescribe a drug that experts say halves the chances of the lethal cancer returning.

Crusading mum led first campaign
16 Feb : Barbara Clark, a nurse and mother-of-two from Bridgwater, Somerset, was the first breast cancer patient to publicly campaign for Herceptin to be made freely available to early-stage breast cancer sufferers on the NHS. The 49-year-old was diagnosed with the HER-2 form of the disease early last year. She vowed to sell her house to buy the drug and was prepared to fight the case at the European Court of Human Rights.

Daily Express (see also the 25 replies in response to this article)

Herceptin bid woman to appeal against ruling
15 Feb: Breast cancer sufferer Ann Marie Rogers has vowed to appeal against a High Court ruling allowing her local NHS trust to refuse to fund treatment with the drug Herceptin. The ruling by Mr Justice Bean, sitting at the High Court in London, could have wide implications for many other health authorities and breast cancer sufferers.....read

Daily Mirror

Judge denies desperate mum breast cancer drug on NHS
Feb 16:  A devastated breast cancer patient yesterday vowed to fight on after losing a legal battle to be treated with Herceptin. Ann Marie Rogers, 54, said she was left living "under a death sentence" after her local NHS Trust refused to pay for the new wonder drug.

BBC Website

Charities' Herceptin clarity call
15 Feb 06: Cancer campaigners call for clarity on who should be able to get Herceptin in the wake of a failed legal challenge.

Woman loses Herceptin court bid
15 Feb 06:  A woman loses her landmark High Court challenge to be allowed the breast cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS.

Q&A: Anti-cancer drug Herceptin
15 Feb 06:  A breast cancer patient is launching a court challenge to health bosses' decision not to give her the drug Herceptin.
 

Herceptin test case verdict due
15/02/2006:  A judge is expected to decide whether a woman is eligible for a cancer drug in what may be a test case for the NHS.
 

Guestbook Entry

Date: 2006-02-13 14:48:37, GMT Name: Ingrid Email: ingridclaydon@aol.com

Saddened but proud to read the posts on this site. I was diagnosed with Her2+ grade3 breast cancer at 38 with a 2 year old son. I was asked to become involved in the HERA trial but devastatingly was selected to be on the control arm. In summer 2004 I began my fight for Herceptin - you'll all be familiar with the ins and outs. Just as I was about to self fund, the first results were published. As a result Roche have donated the drug to all women on the control arm of the study. I was very fortunate to be reselected to have the drug for two years. This however was a year after chemo.

I have a letter from Rosie Winterton, Minister of State(July2005). In it she has confirmed that funding for newly licensed treatments should not be witheld because guidance from NICE is unavailable. She goes on to say that in these cases "we expect PCTs to take full account of the available evidence when reaching funding decisions". This is confirmed in Health Service Circular 1999/176. The minister then states that, "where evidence is very strong, it is highly unlikely that a PCT would refuse funding". If any of you are fighting for Herceptin and would like a copy of this letter to help build your case, please contact me and I'll very happily forward it to you. To each and everyone of you fighting for this drug (and you families), I send my heartfelt support.

The diagnosis and treatment of cancer is difficult enough to deal with. Only those who have been through it can truly understand. Without exception, it seems, we live with what will happen to our (often very young) families if we are not around. Imagine how much anyone loves their children then try to imagine your child's life without you. This is what we live and breath every second of every day. How insulting can it be therefore to have to hear comments like those made by one commentator on Panoramma who stated that the fight for Herceptin is an issue only because those of us affected can shout loudest? The insult is that very ill people have to spend much needed energy to access a drug that could prolong or save our lives. We are shouting not for ourselves but for our children - mothers' instinct.

 

BBC Website

Herceptin test case verdict due
14 Feb: Ann Marie Rogers' case was heard at the High Court last week
A High Court ruling is expected on whether a woman should be allowed the breast cancer drug Herceptin after she was refused it by her NHS trust.

Sentinel

Singing loud to save lives
10 Feb : Even days before the two performances at The Victoria Hall, more than 1,000 tickets had been sold. At £10 each, it means that, after costs, the cast of 180 from local amateur dramatics and operatic societies, choirs and community groups have already cleared £6,500 that will be donated to the Dorothy Griffiths Breast Cancer Appeal. The concerts will be a culmination of months of dedicated work by organisers Michaleen Hilton and Andrew Talbot.

£6,500 for drug appeal - before curtain goes up
9 Feb : Organisers of a major concert in aid of women in need of the breast cancer drug Herceptin have already raised £6,500 from ticket sales - two days before the opening night. For The Girls will be staged at Hanley's Victoria Hall this Saturday and Sunday and will feature 180 cast members, who will perform a mixture of songs from the shows, comedy sketches and other acts.

Western Daily Press

Bed cut fear over £31m shortfall
8 Feb : Health bosses in Gloucestershire are facing a £31million shortfall in their budgets next year. And cuts in the number of beds at hospitals have not been ruled out.

Mother must wait for Herceptin judgment
8 Feb : West breast cancer victim Ann Rogers will have to wait to learn whether she has won a legal challenge to her local NHS trust's refusal to fund treatment with the "wonder drug" Herceptin. A High Court judge yesterday said he would not be giving immediate judgment on the landmark action by the Swindon mother-of-three, saying: "The case is too important for that." But Mr Justice Bean, sitting in London, added that he would not delay "more than absolutely necessary" before giving a ruling.

I am living on cancer death row
7 Feb : Her mother and cousin both died of cancer and then she says she found herself on "death row", waiting in fear for the disease to return. Only the so-called wonder drug Herceptin would give West mother-of-three Ann Rogers a better chance of living than dying - but her hopes were crushed when local health chiefs refused to provide it.

Make breakthrough cancer drug available to everyone
7 Feb : Sir - The drug Herceptin should be available for every patient in the land. What is the use of drug companies spending millions of pounds on producing new drugs if the patient cannot get them simply because of cost?

I feel like I've been placed on death row
7 Feb : A Cancer sufferer's fight to be provided with "wonder-drug" Herceptin reached the High Court in London yesterday. Ann Rogers, 54, from Haydon Wick, Wiltshire, is challenging Swindon PCT's decision to refuse her the drug. If she wins, it could open the door for women throughout the UK to receive it.

BBC Website

Cancer protester ends drug vigil
 07/02/2006: A woman ends a protest over Herceptin prescribing as AMs vote to speed up approving new drugs for the NHS.

Drug ruling 'in line with advice'
07/02/2006:  The stance taken on Herceptin by an NHS trust which refused the cancer drug to a mother-of-three was in line with government advice, a court has heard.

Western Daily Press

I am fighting cancer. . . And now my life is in the hands of a judge
6 Feb : The life of West mother-ofthree Ann Rogers could hinge on the outcome of a landmark court case starting today as she fights for the right to be given cancer "wonder drug" Herceptin. Swindon cancer sufferer Ms Rogers, 53, will make legal history when she takes local health chiefs to court in what will be the first case of its kind.

Cancer woman pleads for life
6 Feb : Herceptin campaigner Ann Rogers said her life could be in the hands of a High Court judge today as she launches a legal fight to be prescribed the breast cancer wonder-drug. Her landmark case against her local Primary Care Trust will begin in London's High Court, and if successful, she could open the floodgates for thousands of women desperately seeking the treatment on the NHS.

BBC Website

Drug refusal 'a death sentence'
06/02/2006 : A mother-of-three has said the refusal by health bosses not to give her the anti-cancer drug Herceptin as "like a death sentence", a court has heard.

Cancer drug protester 'resolute'
06/02/2006:   A woman six days into a protest over the availability of cancer drug Herceptin says she has no plans to abandon her sit-in.

Q&A: Anti-cancer drug Herceptin
06/02/2006: A breast cancer patient is launching a court challenge to health bosses' decision not to give her the drug Herceptin.

Access to cancer drug 'varies widely' (see video link on right-hand side of page.)  5 Feb:  A BBC survey has shown that access to breast cancer drug Herceptin varies depending on where the patient lives.

Assembly cancer vigil continues
Feb 5:  A mother calling for the drug Herceptin for all women in Wales with breast cancer continues her Cardiff Bay protest.

Doctors 'prescribing Herceptin
Feb 3:  More than one in four cancer doctors are allowed to prescribe Herceptin for early stages of the disease despite it not being licensed, a survey says.

Doctor's fears over cancer drug
Feb 3:  A senior doctor expresses misgivings over the way breast cancer drug herceptin is being prescribed.

 Western Daily Press

This gives hope to every other woman facing my situation
2 Feb : A West nurse fighting breast cancer has won the first round of her High Court battle with the NHS over its refusal to give her the "wonder drug" Herceptin. Mother-of-two Elisabeth Cooke, 59, from Bristol, was diagnosed with the aggressive HER2 form of the disease in March last year and her oncologist recommended treatment with the drug.

Latest Sentinel News Stories shown below

Herceptin fight on TV
2 Feb : Two Moorlands women's battle to be treated with the potentially life saving breast cancer drug Herceptin is to be shown on the BBC this Sunday. Bagnall's Alison Poole and Judy Evans from Werrington were part of a group of ten women who began campaigning to be treated with the potentially life saving drug last summer.

Scooter raises £300 for charity
2 Feb : A Mobility scooter donated by a Moorlands business fetched £300 at a charity auction. Moorlands Mobility, based at Lower Tean, donated the scooter to The Women Fighting For Herceptin auction, held at the King's Hall, Stoke.

Herceptin campaign in BBC spotlight
2 Feb : The battle by two Staffordshire Moorlands breast cancer sufferers for Herceptin is to be shown on the flagship BBC current affairs show Panorama this Sunday. Bagnall's Alison Poole and Judy Evans, from Werrington, were part of a group of 10 women who began campaigning for the potentially life-saving drug last summer.

Let's take the friendly approach
2 Feb : This is probably the nicest, friendliest gathering of council members and others in the entire calendar. It meets in the Churnet Room. I asked one member why this most unsuitable room was used and was told that seating could be arranged in a more friendly fashion. A warm glow was already coming over me. No chance of a punch up or a bit of scandal here.

Doorstep protest to end Herceptin 'lottery'
2 Feb : A Woman with breast cancer was last night sleeping on the politicians' doorstep in her campaign to end a "postcode lottery" in cancer treatment. Jayne Sullivan was bedding down for the night on a leather sofa in the Welsh Assembly's foyer in Cardiff Bay.

Herceptin battler sits down in protest
2 Feb : A Woman who fought to be prescribed the anti-cancer drug Herceptin is today starting a sit-in protest at the Welsh National Assembly which she vows will not end until the drug is made available throughout Wales. Mother-of-two Jayne Sullivan has said she will only leave when all Welsh Local Health Boards agree to prescribe the drug whenever a doctor requests it.

Daily Mirror
EXCLUSIVE: CANCER WONDER DRUG CAMPAIGNER GETS ALL CLEAR
Jan 27 2006
CLEAR of cancer.. courageous mother Barbara Clark, who forced Government to prescribe her a miracle drug.

Daily Mirror
WONDER WOMEN
Jan 27 2006 EXCLUSIVE
Clear of cancer.. the courageous mother who forced Government to prescribe her a miracle drug.

Daily Mirror
27 January 2006
WONDER WOMAN EXCLUSIVE
Clear of cancer..mum who forced the Government to hand out miracle drug By Victoria Bone THE mum who fought to make a wonder drug available to all breast cancer sufferers has beaten the disease.

Western Daily Press
Breast cancer mum gets an 'all-clear' after her first test
28 Jan : Breast cancer drug campaigner Barbara Clark, told of her "relief and delight" yesterday after doctors gave her the all-clear - just four months after starting to take the controversial drug Herceptin. But she warned that she has many more months of tests to come: "I am over the moon of course. I am in remission but it is important to make it clear that this is not cure, " she said.

Western Daily Press
Drug appeal
27 Jan : A West breast cancer sufferer is taking the NHS to the High Court after it refused to give her the "wonder drug" Herceptin. Nurse Elisabeth Cooke, 59, was diagnosed with the aggressive HER2 form of the disease last March and her oncologist recommended treatment with the drug.

Western Daily Press
Disgraceful To Refuse Treatment
25 Jan : Sir - With reference to your story on Herceptin, no-one can imagine what it's like living with cancer. Jackie Gray of Swindon has the right to have anything which will give her a better chance of fighting her cancer and having a long and happy life. She should not have to be worrying about this on top of everything else.

Western Daily Press
Barbara is such an inspiration
24 Jan : Sir - I was delighted to read how brave West cancer sufferer Barbara Clark, who fought tooth and nail against her primary care trust last year to be able to receive Herceptin and raise her terminally ill 11-year old son Ash, received the Special Recognition Award at the Mum of the Year awards run by Tesco magazine. Barbara, I think you are a woman in a million and an inspiration to scores of cancer sufferers across the nation.

Western Daily Press
Not a money issue
24 Jan : Sir - I feel passionately that decisions to offer Herceptin for the treatment of breast cancer victims should be made purely on medical grounds, not financial. The Primary Care Trust should fund Jackie Gray's treatment and that of others like her.

Sentinel
Let's hear it for the girls needing help
23 Jan : When Michaleen Hilton found out her mother Val had been diagnosed with breast cancer, she knew that she had to do something to help others confronted with similar news.

Western Daily Press
Treatment must be universal
23 Jan : Sir - With reference to your story about Herceptin (WDP, January 5), Jackie Gray, and every other woman in the same terrible situation, should not have to fight for medication known to help in the treatment of breast cancer. If a woman in one part of the UK is able to get Herceptin, then so should a woman in any other part of the UK. Jacky Dawson Watchfield Swindon

Western Daily Press
Only the NHS discriminates
21 Jan : Sir - Sorry, at which point in history did cancer start to discriminate on the grounds of post code? Oh, that's right, it didn't, I'm confusing it with the NHS and its view on Herceptin!

Western Daily Press
There can be no boundary
21 Jan : Sir - With reference to your story about Herceptin (January 5), Jackie Gray, and every other woman in the same terrible situation, should not have to fight for medication known to help in the treatment of breast cancer. If a woman in one part of the UK is able to get Herceptin, then so should a woman in any other part of the UK. Jacky Dawson

Western Daily Press
Treatment is simply a right
21 Jan : Sir - I feel it is everyone's right to have the treatment they need to improve their condition or illness, and I am appalled that in today's society it comes down to where you live and not what treatment you require. And for a Chief Executive to say that Herceptin as a treatment is only for people with advanced breast cancer, surely it would make more sense to give it to people when they first need it to improve the chances of having a complete recovery.

Western Daily Press
The Herceptin crusaders
20 Jan : A Growing army of women across the West are battling a minefield of bureaucracy and contradiction to get the vital drug. Among them are: Mum-of-three Ann Rogers refused to give in when Swindon Primary Care Trust refused to prescribe Herceptin.

Western Daily Press
Time To End This Cancer Drug Lottery
20 Jan : The campaign to bring the anti-cancer drug Herceptin to every woman who needs it has been an inspiring example of what can be achieved with a bit of purpose and self-belief. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Barbara Clark, women with breast cancer across the country now have a greater chance of surviving.

Western Daily Press
Moving 10 miles would save me
20 Jan : A Furious breast cancer sufferer may move 10 miles up the road to beat the postcode lottery for life-saving drug Herceptin. After three decades of caring for others, nurse Marie Robjohn was stunned when her local NHS trust refused to pay for the drug, which can help treat her form of the disease.

Every one of them a little inspiration
16 Jan : Over the past eight months Harry Durose (1), of Stanfield Crescent, Cheadle, has been in and out of hospital countless times as medics try to reduce the size of his brain stem tumour. The three-year-old has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Regiment is region's favourite
14 Jan : Staffordshire Regiment has been named Midlander of the Year in a BBC poll. The Staffords's tour of duty in Iraq was enough to beat Herceptin campaigner Dot Griffiths in a telephone vote to claim the BBC Midlands award yesterday.

We live, and die, in hope
13 Jan : Ruth Griffin is mourning the loss of her husband Mark, who died of cancer last week. But she is grateful for the extra months they had together, thanks to the drug Gliadel wafers. Mr and Mrs Griffin made headline news in The Sentinel last year when they challenged a decision by North Stoke Primary Care Trust (PCT) not to give Mark the treatment.

Dot to battle army for honours
12 Jan : Cancer champion Dot Griffiths will go head to head with the Staffordshire Regiment for the title of Midlander of the Year. Dot, of Hartshill, is short-listed for the BBC Midlands honour alongside the Staffords after both nominees hit the headlines last year.

Western Mail Wales
The prescriptions patients want
Jan 7 2006
CLINICIANS and managers at Wales' specialist cancer centre Velindre Hospital want to prescribe patients ...

Western Mail Wales
Cancer patients denied best drugs
Jan 7 2006
ALMOST 1,500 patients are being denied the best life-saving or life-prolonging anti-cancer medicines ...

Western Mail Wales
Bureaucracy blamed for cancer drug delays
Jan 6 2006 Hundreds of cancer patients are being denied potentially life-saving drugs because of a bureaucratic ...

Western Mail Wales
Why does where you live matter if you are ill?
Jan 6 2006 Postcode lottery is a dirty phrase few in the NHS like to acknowledge. Yet for many patients it is a ...

Western Mail Wales
Cancer sufferer's treatment crusade
Dec 11 2005 A WELSH breast cancer patient faces a £26,000 bill for a drug her doctor says gives her the best ...

Western Daily Press
Cancer drug victor's first free treatment
7 Jan : A West cancer patient who won the first phase of a landmark High Court victory to be prescribed a potentially lifesaving drug is recovering well after her first free treatment. Swindon mother-of-three Ann Rogers was given the course of Herceptin this week at the town's Great Western Hospital, after a court ruled she could legally challenge a decision not to allow her to have it on the NHS.

Western Daily Press
Breast Cancer Patient Funds Lifesaver Drug
 5 Jan : Breast cancer patient Jackie Gray is having to fund her own "pay-as-you-go" course of wonder drug Herceptin because health chiefs refuse to foot the bill. The mother-of-two from Swindon thought her energy would be focused on fighting the disease when she was diagnosed in September 2004.

The Journal
The Journal: Today's Voice of the North
Jan 5 2006 It would appear common sense does prevail every-so-often (it would be a miracle if it prevailed all ...

Sentinel
Women fight 4 her2 tests
4 Jan : All women diagnosed with breast cancer are being urged to make sure they have been tested for the aggressive form of the disease amid fears many are unaware they could benefit from a wonder drug. It is estimated that the lives of up to 40 women could be saved thanks to the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign.

Musical celebration of cancer drug fight
2 Jan : A Huge benefit concert will be transformed into a musical celebration of the achievements of a group of breast cancer patients. The For The Girls concert, to be staged at the Victoria Hall on Saturday and Sunday, February 11 and 12, was originally planned as a major fund-raiser for the Women Fighting For Herceptin campaign.

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