AUTHOR Julie McGowan gave a speech at the Welsh Conservative Party conference this weekend, calling for Wales to get a cancer drugs fund similar to the one in place in England.

Ms McGowan, from Usk, has been campaigning for life-prolonging cancer drugs to be available on the NHS in Wales.

Her campaign began after her friend Ann Wilkinson was refused the drug Avastin for bowel cancer, even though it is available on the NHS in England.

She collected a petition with thousands of signatures, which she handed over to politicians on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

The petition calls for people in Wales to have the same access to cancer treatments as patients in England.

Monmouth MP David Davies, who also spoke at the conference, said that her speech was inspirational.

Ms McGowan tweeted: “Very touched by standing ovation for my speech at Welsh Conservative conference and generous tweets buzzing about. Thank you for listening.”

The Conservative conference was held at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff.