Nadia Sawalha broke down in tears as she told about her ‘powerhouse’ pal Hannah Gardner – who has stage four incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver.
The Loose Woman star, 59, and her friend Hannah, 37, were left ‘reeling’ after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England.
Nadia condemned the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence who said that the cost the NHS was being asked to pay for trastuzumab deruxtecan – known as Enhertu – was ‘too high’.
The TV personality revealed that Enhertu has the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life.
In an exclusive interview, Nadia told : ‘We’ve got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she’s also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal.
Nadia Sawalha broke down in tears as she told about her ‘powerhouse’ pal Hannah Gardner – who has stage four incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver
The Loose Woman star, 59, and her friend Hannah, 37, (pictured) were left ‘reeling’ after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England
Nadia gushed: ‘She’s a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we’ve got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.
‘We’re a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there’s four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we’re holding you…’
Fighting back tears, Nadia continued: ‘She’s the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she’s been on such a wheel, she’s been told that she’s had cancer four times and she never falters.
‘I’ve seen her be given so much bad news just in the the years that I’ve known her and she breaks for like a minute. It’s really strange to watch and it might sound like a weird thing but it’s always a privilege to watch, she’s so focused and I love watching her with the oncologists who are just all fantastic and the way that she advocates and talks about the drug.’
Hannah, a former clinical trial manage, issued a devastating health update on Wednesday, explaining that the tumours in her liver are growing.
She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 after discovering a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing treatment, the disease has returned twice, in 2017 and again 2020.
In June 2022, Hannah received the heartbreaking news that she has stage four incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver.
The TV personality revealed that Enhertu has the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life
In an exclusive interview, Nadia told : ‘She’s a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we’ve got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.’
Holding back tears, Nadia continued: ‘She’s the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she’s been on such a wheel, she’s been told that she’s had cancer four times and she never falters.’ (Nadia and Hannah on Loose Women’
Now, Hannah has explained on Instagram: ‘I’ve been hit with probably the worst news I’ve had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I’m scared, I can’t lie.’
Hannah waited months to learn whether she would be eligible for groundbreaking new treatment Enhertu, and said she was ‘crushed’ to learn it had been blocked by the NHS.
Enhertu is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.
Chemotherapy is usually offered as a treatment, but if the targeted therapy had been made available, around 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible.
Trials of the drug found it boosted the time the cancer was held at bay from seven months to over two years – results that were called ‘mind-blowing’ by experts.
Nadia says every minute counts with the terminal disease, and the drug would give Hannah precious time to make more happy memories with daughter Lilah.
She explained: ‘We want that drug available to them. It’s a great drug that targets the tumour and doesn’t blast the whole body, you know, we need it.
‘I think anybody that you speak to in the secondary breast cancer community will say they feel that they are pushed to one side.
‘It is like a punch in the stomach, we are absolutely reeling.’
Speaking on how the drug could give Hannah six more months of life, Nadia said: ‘For Hannah, she wants to hear her child say just even one word with her being autistic, so that she knows she’s gonna be all right.’
While the NHS in England blocked use of the drug, it has been allowed in Scotland, and after Nadia shared Hannah’s story on social media, she was inundated with offers from well-wishers offering their address for her friend to register.
Nadia says every minute counts with the terminal disease, and the drug would give Hannah precious time to make more happy memories with daughter Lilah and her husband
Speaking on how the drug could give Hannah six more months of life, Nadia said: ‘For Hannah, she wants to hear her child say just even one word with her being autistic, so that she knows she’s gonna be all right.
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘NHS England expected drug companies AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo to offer this treatment at a price that would enable Nice to recommend its use for patients with secondary breast cancer.
‘We are deeply disappointed that AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have not been willing to price this treatment to enable approval, therefore denying NHS patients the opportunity to access this latest advance in care.’
AstraZeneca UK’s President says: ‘This is a devastating decision and one which is out of step with other countries including Scotland. Sadly, the rigid application of a flawed methodology has here been prioritised ahead of doing what’s right for breast cancer patients in England and Wales.
‘This sits extremely uncomfortably and we call on NICE to reverse this decision and expedite an urgent review of their disease severity modifier, in this case it clearly isn’t working in the interests of patients.’
Nadia and Hannah are not accepting the drug being blocked and have planned to visit parliament on Monday to talk to Craig Tracey MP about next steps and how to put as much pressure as they can on government.
Nadia explained: ‘We are fighting this all the way. I believe we have got to try for those other women so they don’t feel like they’re being forgotten. We’ve got to give people hope and that’s what we’re working towards.’
Breast Cancer Now’s petition, which currently has more than 126,000 signatures, is calling on NICE, NHS England and the drug companies Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, to do everything possible to find a solution that makes Enhertu available on the NHS.
On Friday, Hannah joined Nadia on Loose Women to discuss their battle for NHS to approve the drug
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now says: ‘The devastating rejection of Enhertu for use on the NHS in England has created a truly heartbreaking postcode lottery of access to a life-extending treatment for women with HER2-low incurable secondary breast cancer.
‘All women living with incurable secondary breast cancer in the UK deserve the hope of more time to live, no matter where they live. Help us make this a reality. Sign and share our #EnhertuEmergency petition to urge NICE, NHS England, Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to make Enhertu available on the NHS now.’
On Friday, Hannah joined Nadia on Loose Women to discuss their battle for NHS to approve the drug.
She told the panel: ‘ I don’t know how long I’ve got, some statistics two to four years, some say three to five, I am 3 years in and it’s scary.
‘It’s not a fairy tale, it only ends one way. All we can have is extra time and this drug would have given me that, more time with my daughter.’
‘Six months might not sound like a long time, but it is in the world of secondary breast cancer.’
Breast Cancer Now is continuing to campaign on behalf of women living with HER2-low secondary breast cancer for access to Enhertu. You can sign their petition here.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
- Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000