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Lea Hughes Turns to Private Funding for Unapproved Breast Cancer Drug

She is raising funds to afford Enhertu, a targeted therapy that NICE rejected for her incurable metastases.

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Overview

  • Lea Hughes first noticed a breast lump in 2015 at age 29 but was told it was hormonal fibrocystic tissue and was not referred for tests.
  • In April 2018 she was diagnosed with incurable stage four breast cancer that had already metastasized to her liver and bones.
  • Despite a mastectomy, multiple chemotherapy regimens and radiotherapy, scans in August 2024 detected brain metastases and in March 2025 revealed lung involvement requiring fluid drainage.
  • Now on her sixth round of chemotherapy, she has exhausted all NHS-funded treatment options for her advanced disease.
  • Enhertu, the targeted antibody-drug conjugate she hopes to access, has shown tumor shrinkage in clinical trials but costs over £10,000 per cycle and remains outside NHS coverage for her condition.