Family seek to raise money for lung cancer drug

Elaine Lynch said she felt she was fighting both cancer and the health system

A family has raised £12,000 to pay for a cancer drug for their mother, which was not available to her on the NHS.

Elaine Lynch, 58, from Dorridge, West Midlands, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and it has since spread.

She was told a drug called Enhertu was needed to target her mutation, known as HER2, but it is not approved for NHS use for lung cancer patients.

Her family said it was an "injustice" and they will need to find £9,040 every three weeks to pay for it privately.

They have set up an online petition to get Enhertu, which is currently recommended for breast cancer patients, licensed for the use for lung cancer patients. It has already been signed by almost 160,000 people.

With the help of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham the family said they tried "every avenue" to get Enhertu on the NHS, but were denied.

So they are raising the money to pay for it themselves.

Mrs Lynch said the decision to fundraise was hard for her as she felt like she was begging but her children had persuaded her it was necessary.

Her treatment, which started on Tuesday, will be evaluated after three months and if it proves successful she will have more.

Family savings were used to pay for the first treatment, but money from the online fundraising page will be needed, if it is to continue.

She said it would be "incredibly stressful" knowing more money would be needed.

The response to the online petition had been incredible, she said, and hearing how others had been denied treatment had motivated her to fight on their behalf.

Her son, Adam, added: "We believe that everyone should have the right to receive the best possible treatment for their condition regardless of the type of cancer they have."

University Hospitals Birmingham confirmed Enhertu is not currently licensed for lung cancer patients in this country.

NHS England was approached for a comment.