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Bittersweet Triumph: Cancer Drug Reaches NHS
18 Sep
Summary
- A teacher died at 32 after cancer spread to bones and liver.
- Enhertu, a drug offering months or years, is now on NHS.
- Husband calls drug's approval 'bittersweet' but positive.
A life-saving breast cancer drug, Enhertu, has finally been made available on the NHS in England, a development met with mixed emotions by the husband of a woman who died from the disease. Fionnuala Quinlan-Bennett, a primary school teacher from Crawley, West Sussex, passed away in June at the age of 32, after her cancer had metastasized to her bones and liver.
The drug, Enhertu, which combines targeted therapy with chemotherapy, is known to offer patients additional months or even years of life. Until recently, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) had deemed it too costly for widespread NHS use.
Fionnuala's husband, Nathan Bennett, described the news of the drug's approval as "bittersweet." He shared his profound happiness for other women who will now benefit, stating that his wife had actively campaigned for the drug during her illness, knowing it would never be an option for her.
Doctors in Northern Ireland can now also prescribe Enhertu, with Wales expected to follow suit shortly. Women in Scotland have had access to this treatment since 2023, and it is already available in 26 other European countries.
