Right now, some people living with incurable secondary breast cancer can’t access the drugs they need to stay alive. That’s why we urgently need to change the system that the NHS uses to decide which treatments to make available. But we need your help to make that happen.
What's the problem?
NICE is the organisation that decides whether drugs can be made available on the NHS. They rate conditions by how severe they are, to work out what to spend on different treatments. The more severe the condition, the more money the NHS can spend on drugs to treat it.
But NICE has set the bar for severity too high.
It means some people with incurable secondary breast cancer can’t get the drugs they need. NICE doesn't consider their condition severe enough – despite them having only months to live.
This has already led to NICE rejecting Enhertu, a drug that could give people in the last years of life more time. And it won’t be the last.
How can we fix it?
NICE need to lower the bar for what counts as a very severe condition, so that more money can be spent on drugs to treat conditions like secondary breast cancer.
But first, the government needs to remove any restrictions that could stop them doing this.
Please email your MP today, and ask them to put pressure on the Health Secretary to change the system.
“Changing the system could buy me time. Time with my children, my husband, my parents, my friends. Even if it’s just two or three more years, that amount of time is a lot with children. It’s the difference between leaving primary and starting secondary school. That’s a big move that I want to be there for. “
Kate
Read our report on the NICE severity modifier
Setting the bar too high
Help us fix the system
Email your MP today and ask them to write to the Health Secretary. Help us make sure people with secondary breast cancer get #MoreTimeToLive.