This month, Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, supported Breast Cancer Now’s #MoreTimetoLive campaign, which shines a spotlight on difficulties facing those living with secondary breast cancer in accessing life-extending medical treatments.
The campaign highlights the reality that those with secondary breast cancer are being denied access to life-extended medical treatments due to changes in the system of approval for NHS funding on those treatments by the National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE).
In 2022, changes were made so that greater weight in approving funding for new medicines is not given solely to cases when the treatment is for individuals with short life expectancy, but also to include the severity of the condition it treats.
This change has, despite being more inclusive of medical treatments for funding, had some impacts on the availability of treatments. Enhertu, for example, is a licensed treatment that could be used for those living with secondary breast cancer, but is not accessible as the approval process deemed the condition to be ‘moderately severe’ in 2024, and hence funding for its use from the NHS will not be provided.
This means that while people with secondary breast cancer in Scotland and 20 European countries have access to Enhertu, those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland do not.
Dr Hudson has spent his Parliamentary career championing the need for research, diagnosis and treatment for cancer, including joining up with Cancer Research UK to champion innovative research and treatments for cancer sufferers, on World Cancer Day back in February.
Following the event, Dr Neil Hudson commented:
“Living with secondary breast cancer is a deeply challenging and difficult time for those affected. The anxiety of navigating life with secondary breast cancer should not be compounded by the denial of life-extending medication to those in need of it.
I am grateful to Breast Cancer Now for raising awareness of this issue and the work that needs to be done to support those living with secondary breast cancer.”
