Cancer sufferer hits out at NHS bid to block drug
ANEWLY-WED diagnosed with terminal breast cancer has criticised plans to stop NHS patients from receiving a life-extending drug – because of the cost.
Katrina Keyte, 35, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in June 2015, learning the disease had returned and spread to her liver and lungs.
She had been advised to start taking Kadcyla after her current treatment. The drug could extend her life by months, even years.
But the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says it may not recommend the drug for routine use on the NHS.
The controversial draft decision reportedly follows the breakdown of negotiations with drug-maker Roche Products, and means full treatment could cost £90,000 per patient.
Mrs Keyte, from Smethwick, fears she and others could lose out on precious months with their loved ones.
“Being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 31 was very scary,” she said.
“I was very shocked, and at the time I had only been going out with my boyfriend Marc for five months. I didn’t know anyone who had ever had cancer at the time.”
HMV store supervisor Mrs Keyte underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapy at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
But two years later she was told the cancer had returned after she developed a cough. An X-ray and CT scan revealed that she had a tumour in her lung and liver, and that her cancer was now incurable.
“Eventually, the drug that I’m currently on will stop working,” says Katrina. “Currently, there is no sign of the cancer in my body, but it will grow back.”
After her diagnosis of secondary cancer in June 2015, Mrs Keyte and Mr engaged and March.
“I feel I want to give Marc a lifetime of memories in the time I have left,” she says.
“If they take that drug away, then I might not live to see my best friend give birth to her baby. It gives me, and patients like me, more time with their friends and family, which is so precious.
“Kadcyla gives a good quality of life so you can enjoy your time without suffering the sideeffects a chemotherapy drug might give you.”
Katrina is backing a petition launched by charity Breast Cancer Now to urge NICE and drug maker Roche Products to find a solution to overturn the draft decision, which has already 90,000 names on it. Keyte, 41, married got last