Herceptin in the United Kingdom

I received an e-mail the other day from Mary Finnigan, who lives in Bristol and who is being treated for breast cancer with Herceptin.

Two things that Mary said really amazed me:

• She gets her Herceptin treatments at home.
A nurse comes to her and brings the whole IV set-up. “This means I can carry on at the keyboard while attached to a drip,” she says.
(When I think of all the hours I have wasted in the treatment center, not to mention the exposure to germs every time I go in! I don't know of anyone in the U.S. who gets their IV treatment at home. I'm jealous.)

• Herceptin costs less in the UK than it does in the United States.
Mary says that Herceptin in the UK costs £1,000 per dose plus the cost of delivering it. I did the math on that, and that is less than $2,000 per dose. My cancer center charges me $6,200 and change, per dose.

Well, that’s another question for Genentech, maker of Herceptin: Why are they charging less for the drug in the UK than they are at home?

Mary’s E-mail
Here is Mary’s e-mail in its entirety.

Hi Jeanne,
I reached your blog via my Google Alert on Herceptin.

Read with dismay your financial problems in the U.S. Made me go down on my knees and thank our much-maligned UK National Health Service.

Since I was diagnosed with early stage Grade 3 HER2, node positive breast cancer in March last year I have received 5 star treatment from the cancer care programme in my home city of Bristol. I do not have to worry about the cost.

This is a huge bonus -- judging by the experiences of fellow travelers in other countries. At present I am receiving Herceptin every three weeks, delivered to me by Health Care at Home, a private company which is paid by the NHS.

This means I can carry on at the keyboard while attached to a drip. Feels like a big luxury. I also get the exclusive attention of a senior nurse for the whole process. All my treatments -- mastectomy, chemo and radiotherapy have been planned around my work and leisure schedule. My longest waiting time for any appointment or treatment was one hour -- and that has only happened twice in 11 months.

I see the same Consultant Clinical Oncologist at every visit, for as long as I need to. He answers my queries via e-mail and is a very pleasant, professional, open-minded person.

Having said all this two issues do figure in the picture:

1. I am an assertive, informed, middle-class woman who has worked as a journalist for her entire adult life.

2. The resources that are being directed at cancer care these days are contributing to squeezes in other areas of the NHS. This undesirable consequence is highlighted regularly in the UK media. In my view all of us who are fortunate enough to be eligible for Herceptin should start a campaign targeted at Genentech and Roche in order to get the astronomical cost of this drug substantially reduced.

Please subscribe me to your blog. It is the best one I have come across so far during my Herceptin research.

Warm wishes,

Mary Finnigan

Comments

[Judith Bennett]

My niece has Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP). Following major surgery at the Basingstoke Hospital and two further courses of chemotherapy, her consultant is now trying to get funding from our Health Authority to use Herceptin. The problem is we can only find sites where Herceptin is used to treat breast cancer. Any ideas where we can look for information? I have tried Roche but they were not able to help.

Any suggestions would be most welcomed.

Judith

[jeanne]

Judith--you might start here:

www.spoconline.com, or by calling (888) 249-4918

That's the Web site and phone for getting free Herceptin from Genentech, the manufacturer. But they may refer you somewhere else since you are in the UK.

Keep asking about "compassionate use," that's the term. And please let me know what happens.

Jeanne