BREAST cancer patient Amanda D'argue, who won her fight to receive the wonder drug Herceptin, has welcomed the decision for all women to get the same treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended the drug for use on the NHS for those women with early stage breast cancer.

Mrs D'argue (40), of Winchester Road, Radcliffe, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease in July last year and underwent an immediate mastectomy.

She also embarked on a course of chemotherapy and gruelling radiotherapy as part of her treatment.

Mrs D'argue, a bank worker and Body Shop at Home consultant, battled for five months to be prescribed Herceptin by Bolton Primary Care Trust and is already receiving the treatment.

The mother-of-two said: "This is absolutely fantastic, but I just don't know why it's taken so long. It seems ridiculous. It's such good news for lots of people. I wouldn't want anyone to go through the nightmare that me and my family endured. My treatment is going really well and I've had no side-effects."

Herceptin is effective on the HER2-positive strain of breast cancer, which affects around 20 per cent to 25 per cent of newly-diagnosed women.

Research shows those who take the drug reduce their risk of the disease returning by 46 per cent, and have an 80.6 per cent chance of being alive after three years without the recurrence of any cancer.

This compares to 74 per cent of those on treatment other than Herceptin.

Primary care trusts will start funding the Herceptin treatment in three months. A year-long course costs £20,000.

The final guidance on the drug confirms draft guidelines issued in June which recommend Herceptin for early stage HER2-positive breast cancer, except where there are concerns about a woman's heart function.