When Mum of two Elaine Lynch was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 she had no idea she would not just have to fight the disease but also for the drug that could give her more time.
Elaine was told a drug called Enhertu is needed to target her cancer mutation known as HER2 mutation.
In the UK it is licenced for treating this type of breast cancer but not when it develops in the lung.
When she was told she could not receive the drug on the NHS, her doctor approached the pharmaceutical company to ask for it on compassionate grounds but were told the company does not offer this.
Elaine was told a drug called Enhertu is needed to target her cancer mutation known as HER2 mutation
GB News
But the drug is available to buy so that’s what Elaine is doing, - £9,000 every three weeks.
Elaine, from the West Midlands, started her treatment just weeks ago but doesn’t know how much longer she can afford to pay for it.
She said she wants to live as long as she can “to make memories with my family”.
“We’re fighting the cancer which is bad enough but then we’ve got this added stress of having to pay for the treatment.”
Elaine’s children have started a Go Fund Me page to try and raise money for her treatment and started a petition calling for change.
Last year the drug was approved to treat lung cancer patients. Dr Susan Scott Assistant Professor of Oncology from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center said for the patients it does work for it is a “fantastic treatment”.
She said, “I have an example of a patient who is in her 80’s who has been able to go on this drug for almost a year now, she feels really well every day, it shrunk her tumours to almost undetectable”.
Julie Woodington from Bristol has the same lung cancer and has been told Enhertu is the treatment she needs, but the mum of two can’t afford it. Her oncologist has approached the pharmaceutical company twice to ask for the drug on compassionate grounds but was also told no.
The Mum of two told GB News: “I’m on borrowed time now, I’ve got a family and they’re driving everything I do, I just want the best chance, if there’s a drug out there that can possibly give me more time, I just want to try it.”
Julie has started another round of chemotherapy, but unlike Enhertu she cannot keep having the drug as it’s too invasive so she said as soon as she stops treatment her cancer “flares back up again”.
The pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo said they do not offer this drug on compassionate grounds.
A spokesman for Daiichi Sankyo UK said: "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 licence. 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."
Elaine started her treatment just weeks ago
GB News
Julie said: “I guess people that make these decisions like the big drug companies, they’re kind of so far removed from it that they sort of forget this is people’s lives 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 it is going to happen to you and you’ve just got to try and live your life but it’s hard, it’s really hard. Especially as you know there could be something out there that could help me, and I can’t get it.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) told GB News the committee can only make a recommendation for a drug once it has been licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and pharmaceutical company.
An MHRA spokesperson said: “The current indication for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) in the UK, approved for the treatment of breast cancer and gastric cancer, is based on the data submitted by the manufacturer during the marketing authorisation application.
“To extend its use to treat lung cancer, the manufacturer would need to submit a variation application to add this therapeutic indication to the marketing authorisation (licence). This application should include data from clinical trials of Enhertu in patients with lung cancer.
“Upon receiving an application, we will conduct a careful evaluation of the new trial data to ensure that the medicine meets our high standards of quality, safety and efficacy before granting an extension. We prioritise applications where there is high unmet clinical need. ”
