Loose Women star joins heartbreaking queue to help terminally ill get more time with loved ones

Loose Women star joins heartbreaking queue to help terminally ill get more time with loved ones Women dying of breast cancer are calling for the NHS to fund a vital drug which could provide them with valuable extra time with their loved ones. TV's Nadia Sawalha lent her support Women have formed a heartbreaking queue to represent thousands waiting for NHS access to a drug that could give them extra time with loved ones. The poignant queue also paid tribute to those who died waiting for the life-extending Enhertu drug, which has been declared too expensive for the NHS to fund. Pairs of empty shoes were placed in London's Trafalgar Square to represent those who have died while campaigning for access to the crucial drug. The drug can give women with incurable metastatic breast cancer an extra six months with loved ones but is being denied to thousands of women with breast cancer in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The drug is however free in Scotland and 26 other European countries. A recent poll by Breast Cancer Now revealed 82 per cent of UK adults believe the life-extending drug should be made available to those who need it on the NHS. On Thursday campaigners took to the streets of London as they queued as part of Breast Cancer Now’s ‘Enhertu Now’ campaign. Pairs of shoes in the queue represented the many people who’ve tragically died waiting for Enhertu, denied the chance of more time to live including several women who campaigned with the charity for the drug to be made available. They included Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha, who joined the queues and told the parties involved in the drug to come together to make a deal urgently. "My message to the NHS in England, NICE and the pharmaceuticals companies, having been in a room with them, listened to them, listened to NICE, listened to Astra Zeneca and the lot and 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, is living with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer, joined the queue for those who come after her. The mum of two young girls, aged nine and seven, 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. “However, I continue to campaign today so that people in the future have the best access possible to life prolonging medicines like Enhertu regardless of which part of the UK they live in, so that they can have more time to live well with their disease and more time to spend with the people they love, doing what they love. This queue today is so important to show the human aspect of this issue.” The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said: 'Enhertu for Her-2 low metastatic breast cancer remains the only breast cancer treatment NICE has been unable to recommend for patients, in the last eight years. "This was because, at the price offered by the company, in 2024, the treatment was too expensive for the benefits it provided, and NICE concluded it was not cost effective. "As part of the US-UK trade deal, announced in December 2025, NICE is now using a new higher threshold for cost effective decisions. "Given these new circumstances, discussions involving NICE, the companies and NHS England have resumed to try to seek agreement on a commercial offer that would make Enhertu cost effective. NICE stands ready to consider reviewing the guidance if new evidence, including a new commercial offer, were to be put forward by the company. "NICE remains committed to getting the best care to patients and we understand the impact this decision has had on the breast cancer community. " In a statement last month, the drug companies said: "Daiichi Sankyo & AstraZeneca can confirm that 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. "We remain fully committed to working in partnership with the system to find a way forwards for patients. " [Image text:] 16 MONTHS 19 MONTHS