Women with incurable breast cancer formed a heartbreaking queue in London's Trafalgar Square to demand NHS access to the life-extending drug Enhertu. The poignant demonstration, part of Breast Cancer Now's 'Enhertu Now' campaign, also paid tribute to those who died waiting for the drug, with pairs of empty shoes representing the lost.
Enhertu can give women with metastatic breast cancer an extra six months with loved ones, but it has been deemed too expensive for NHS funding in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The drug is freely available in Scotland and 26 other European countries.
Celebrity support and personal stories
Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha joined the queue and urged the parties involved to urgently reach a deal. 'My message to the NHS in England, NICE and the pharmaceuticals companies... I have come away with the overriding impression that women here, in England, who have secondary breast cancer, are of no consequence to them,' she said. 'They don't care. They don't value them. They don't value that they might still want to do the job that they love, or look after their children for that little bit longer. If we can give a women another six months, another year and other two years, why wouldn't we?... Pull your finger out.'
Mum Hannah Roberts, 42, from Sutton Coldfield, who is living with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer, joined the queue for those who come after her. She said: 'I learnt only yesterday that if my current treatment line fails there are likely only two other treatment options available to me, and even if Enhertu becomes available to me it may be too late if my body is no longer to tolerate harsh chemotherapies. I will always wonder what might have been if this drug had been available to me sooner, and that my post code had not been a barrier to access.'
Poll and official response
A recent poll by Breast Cancer Now revealed 82 per cent of UK adults believe the life-extending drug should be made available on the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said Enhertu remains the only breast cancer treatment it has been unable to recommend in the last eight years, because at the price offered by the company in 2024, the treatment was too expensive. However, as part of the US-UK trade deal announced in December 2025, NICE is now using a new higher threshold for cost-effective decisions, and discussions involving NICE, the companies and NHS England have resumed. NICE stands ready to consider reviewing the guidance if new evidence, including a new commercial offer, were to be put forward by the company.
In a statement last month, drug companies Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca said discussions are ongoing with NHS England and NICE to identify a solution to support access to Enhertu for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and they remain fully committed to working in partnership to find a way forwards for patients.
