A vital treatment offering precious hope of more time to live for people with incurable secondary breast cancer, has been rejected for use on the NHS in England.

As you’re all aware, the cancer community is a big part of what Sophie Tea Art has become. The women who make it through the difficulties of day to day life, all whilst battling cancer, are the women that inspire me the most. The Nicky Newmans of the world that ‘Go Grab Life’! It was an honour to give some women at Send Nudes Live the chance to forget about their diagnosis for a day and fall back in love with their bodies that carry them!

So recently when it was brought to my attention that there is a drug, Enhertu - which can prolong the life of women with secondary breast cancer - being held back by the NHS due to cost, I was beyond shocked. Then, to find out that it is in fact being provided by the NHS in Scotland & Northern Ireland, where we pay the same taxes and have the same government, blew me away! 

In recent studies, Enhertu reduced the risk of cancer growing or spreading in patients with HER2-low breast cancer by 38% compared with those who received chemotherapy. These are hard facts that this drug is helping prolong lives.

I had the privilege of painting 31 women, to represent the 31 women we lose daily to secondary breast cancer. The  group took to Parliament Square to draw some attention to themselves and get people talking about Enhertu and the injustice between the English & Scottish NHS systems. 

Since writing this, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have announced their final decision regarding Enhertu. Unfortunately, they have rejected it. As a group, the women I painted are fighting but the concern now lies that this decision will affect outcomes with other drugs for metastatic breast cancer. The determination means that about 1,000 patients in England and Wales won’t be able to access Enhertu, while others in places such as Scotland, the U.S. and European nations can benefit from the drug.

You can read more about Enhertu on breastcancernow.org where you can show your support by signing and sharing the petition.