Breast cancer drug move is 'exciting'

Women in England and Wales with a strong family history of breast cancer could be offered medication on the NHS to try to prevent the disease.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has launched a consultation on whether tamoxifen could be given for up to five years.

If approved later this year, the draft guidelines would be the first of their kind in the UK.

Patient Emma Parlons carried a gene called BRCA1 which greatly increased her chances of getting breast cancer, and decided to have a double mastectomy.

She welcomed the announcement from Nice, saying it may minimise the need for women to have surgery in the future.