A cancer drug that could have saved Jane Tomlinson’s life is being made widely available in the UK.
Mrs Tomlinson, who died last September aged 43, was denied Lapatin because her NHS trust would not pay the £6,700 cost.
Her husband Mike campaigned for it to be made widely available after her death.
Mr Tomlinson said his wife had found it distressing that she did not have easy access to the drug before her death in September.
The mother of three raised £1.75m, much of which was used for facilities run by the trust which refused to help her.
Mrs Tomlinson finally managed to get the drug from another hospital but her condition had seriously deteriorated during the three-month delay.
Also known as Tyverb, the drug has received its European licence, making it available on private prescription in the UK.
Lapatin can prolong the lives of women suffering a type of advanced breast cancer by stopping the disease from growing.
The drug is for women whose advanced disease has stopped responding to Herceptin.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) will assess it later in the year before deciding if patients can get it on the NHS.
Pamela Goldberg, chief executive of Breast Cancer Campaign, said today’s announcement means around 2,000 women a year in the UK may benefit.
"It is encouraging news that Tyverb has received a conditional licence indication for metastatic breast cancer.
"However, it is important to emphasise that it is not a new wonder drug suitable for all breast cancer patients.
"Around 2,000 women in the UK with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer who have previously followed a specific drug regime could benefit from this treatment.
"The signs are promising and we hope that Tyverb will be developed further as a treatment in the earlier stages of breast cancer.
“Tyverb is a new way to treat breast cancer as it specifically targets the receptors responsible for tumour growth; just one of the many new breast cancer treatments in the pipeline that will provide tailored treatment for the patient.”
Dr Alexis Willett, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "Patients with advanced breast cancer usually have limited treatment options.
"Today’s launch of Lapatin will give hope to those diagnosed with the more aggressive HER2 positive form of the disease when it no longer responds to Herceptin.
“As Lapatin is given as a tablet this will also reduce the number of hospital visits required, improving patients’ quality of life.”
