A CWMBRAN woman has spoken of her frustration after she was denied access to a form of treatment in a battle with cancer for the second time.

Mum-of-two Carolyn Davies, 47, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2014 and, after treatment including chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiotherapy, she was prescribed Herceptin to try and prevent the cancer from spreading.

But in May this year a biopsy showed she had developed a secondary form of the disease.

Her oncologist recommended that she apply for funding for Trastuzumab Emtansine TDN1, which is currently used in England - but she was denied on the grounds that she had not tried alternative treatment.

Carolyn, of St Joseph’s Meadow in Cwmbran , said it was "frustrating and upsetting" as she believes she would have the treatment first if she lived in England.

“As I had not tried other forms of treatment I am now on medication where I take 11 tablets a day," she said.

“They are giving me some treatment but it is not specific to breast cancer.”

She added: “It’s not a cure for it, it’s something that prolongs your life.

“They have said that if my current treatment is working they will carry on, but if it’s not I can reapply for funding.

“It could work for three months, six months or any other time. I just don’t know.”

Friends and colleagues have rallied around to support her in a bid to fundraise to pay for the cancer treatment. Carolyn's daughter Hannah, aged 10, also raised £18 by selling homemade cards to neighbours.

Close friend Marsha Whant, of Penywain Street in Pontypool, set up a fundraising page earlier this week with a target of £5,000, but a year’s worth of treatment could be closer to £50,000.

Marsha, who works with Carolyn at Lloyds Bank in Newport, said: “As a friend and colleague of Carolyn's, I want to see her get this treatment - she has two children aged just 11 and 8, and they deserve many more happy years with their fantastic mum.”

Marsha has contacted Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds and is also fundraising for the campaign at work by holding book sales, cake sales and bucket collections.

A spokesman from Aneurin Bevan UHB said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases in detail. In some cases where a drug has not been made routinely available by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), there is a process by which clinicians can provide clinical evidence and apply for exceptional funding where they believe a patient may benefit from treatment with that drug.

"To ensure appropriate use of NHS funds, a wide range of clinical evidence is sought to ensure that the treatment being requested is the right treatment for the patient. We fully appreciate that patients are disappointed when they are not granted access to drugs not routinely available despite their clinician having made an application.”

You can donate at gofundme.com/w97qag