If I'm not here to look after my family, it will cost an awful lot more for somebody to look after my husband than it would to give me the drug Jane Humphreys

Jane Humphreys, 43, from Mold, Flintshire, has been refused funding by Health Commission Wales (HCW) for the anti-cancer drug Cetuximab.

She believes it "could make the difference between life and death".

But HCW said the drug had not been approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).

Mrs Humphreys was diagnosed with bowel cancer three years ago and the cancer has since spread to her liver and lungs.

She has already had five operations and is about to begin a fourth round of chemotherapy treatment.

But the oncology nurse, who works at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, said she had responded well to treatment and believed that Cetuximab, which is widely used in Europe, could be a life-saver.

In the past six months HCW has refused two applications for her to receive the drug and an appeal on her behalf by the charity Bowel Cancer UK has also been turned down.

Now the charity is preparing to support her in taking her case to a judicial review.

Effectiveness

A spokesman for HCW said it was unable to comment on individual cases, but its guidelines prevented the commission from funding the drug.

A spokesman said guidance from Nice was published in January 2007 and it recommended that Cetuximab should not be used.

Apart from working as a nurse, Mrs Humphreys looks after her husband Mark, who is registered blind and disabled, and their two teenage children.

"I feel the health commission is taking away my last bit of hope," she said.

"If I'm not here to look after my family, it will cost an awful lot more for somebody to look after my husband than it would to give me the drug.

"I am still working and I still have people who need me -- it's an infringement of my human rights."

Ian Beaumont, campaigning director at Bowel Cancer UK, said there was no doubt as to the effectiveness of Cetuximab.

"The drug can make a difference to Jane," he said.

"We just feel very strongly that she should be given the chance to take it."