Restricted cancer drug ‘gave me two years’
A cancer patient today told how her life was extended by a drug that is restricted by the Government's rationing body.
Suzanne Lloyd, who has advanced breast cancer, said denying people Avastin was taking away their "last lifeline".
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence rejects it for use on the NHS for breast cancer sufferers, saying it offers "limited and uncertain benefit" and does not lead to any significant extension of life.
Mrs Lloyd spent £80,000 on a two-year course of the drug after her primary care trust in Merton refused to fund it for her.
The 43-year-old, who now lives in Deal, Kent, responded well to the drug but it eventually stopped working for her.
The former PR director, whose cancer has since spread to her liver, said: "If somebody's consultant says it is right for them, then they are the best people to know. The drug gave me two and a half extra years of life."
The total average cost per patient of Avastin is more than £33,000, according to figures from manufacturer Roche.
Mrs Lloyd, who has been fighting the illness for 10 years, now hopes a six-month course of chemotherapy will shrink her tumours to a size where she is eligible for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy.
