THE daughter of a cancer sufferer who was told she was not ‘exceptional’ enough for a drug which could extend her life by 10 weeks, has vowed to raise the money herself.

Janet Hodges, from Carterton, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and has since learned it has spread to her brain.

After a course of treatment, including a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Mrs Hodges’ doctor suggested she try a drug called Lapatinib.

But NHS Oxfordshire, which decides where cash is spent, has refused to fund her £21,000-a-year treatment.

It followed guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which advises which treatments the NHS should routinely pay for. It said the drug should only be given in “exceptional circumstances”.

Mrs Hodges, 59, received a letter on Saturday stating her bid to be considered an exceptional case had been turned down.

Now daughter Laura Hodges, 31, has vowed to raise the £21,000, starting with a pamper day at Witney Fire Station on Saturday.

She said: “What do you have to do be considered exceptional?

“Isn’t anyone who stands the chance of living longer with the help of a drug, exceptional? Needless to say, we both felt disappointed and upset by the letter, but not surprised.

“We can, and will, appeal against this decision.

“Before I knew mum wouldn’t get the funding, I felt the need to do something to raise some money just in case. I don’t expect to raise £21,000, but anything we can contribute towards the cost may help get the funding.”

Her mother said: “When I got the letter I felt numb. But we never thought they’d fund the treatment.

“Maybe there is someone else in more need than me, I don’t know.

“If our appeal is successful, or if it is decided the treatment is not suitable for me, then we’ll give the money straight to the Churchill Hospital, in Oxford, where it can help other patients.

“Everyone there has been brilliant.”

Bosses at NHS Oxfordshire said Lapatinib must be given with another chemotherapy drug, capecitabine, making the combined cost just over £25,000 per year.

A spokesman said: “The individual clinical circumstances are considered in assessing whether the patient may have a greater capacity to benefit from the treatment than might normally be expected.“ In the past three years, six people have applied for the drug and two received it.

Kelly Drewett, a firefighter based at Witney Fire Station, said: “We are all behind this fundraising effort.

“Everyone is mucking in, getting their wives and girlfriends involved, and helping to set up if they cannot be there on the day.”

l The pamper day takes place on Saturday at Witney Fire Station, in Welch Way, from 1pm.

Tickets are £2 and accompanied children under 12 go free.

Prizes include an auction of Witney Rugby Team players for dates and odd jobs. Beauty and health treatments, including waxing, tinting, nails, shiatsu chair massage, hair styling, henna tattooing, and Indian head massages will be on offer for donations.