A daily newspaper has launched a campaign to get a drug which helps prolong the life of those with inoperable breast cancer available on the National Health Service.

The Daily Record used yesterday’s front page to call for Kadcyla to be made available on the NHS,join 18 other countries as the Scottish Medicines Consortium prepares to decide whether Scotland should join 18 countries where it is currently approved for general use.

The Glasgow-based Record has published the story of Alison Tait, 47, who is undergoing chemotherapy for HER2+ metastasized breast cancer and believes she will one day need Kadcyla to prolong her life.

A course of Kadcyla can cost £90,000 and extend a cancer sufferer’s life by more than six months, and Alison’s 16-year-old daughter Ellen has joined her mother in calling for the drug’s use to be approved.

Record editor Murray Foote told HTFP: “When I read the testimony of four mothers, including that of Alison, there was only one course of action for the Daily Record: To support their calls to make Kadcyla available to all who need it.

“Everyone understands that there is not a bottomless pit of public money and the SMC have to make some terribly tough calls about what medicines the NHS can afford. But it’s hard to listen to Alison and Ellen’s story and not conclude that the money should be found for Kadcyla.

“Breast cancer is one of the cruellest diseases which kills too many young mums. Kadcyla is effective against a specific, incurable form of the disease and has very few side-effects.

“Alison says the thought driving her campaign to convince the SMC is: Who will hug my daughter if I die? Ninety grand seems a small price to pay for an extra six months of mum’s hugs.”