Nadia Sawalha’s heartbreak as her best friend dies aged just 39: How the Loose Women star fought tirelessly to reverse a ‘brutal’ block on pioneering cancer drug for the ‘powerhouse’ mother-of-one

Nadia Sawalha shared her heartbreak following the death of her friend after fighting to reverse a block on a cancer drug that could have extended her life.

The Loose Women star, 61, campaigned for the use of the pioneering drug and even stood outside parliament topless in a bid to raise awareness for the ban.

During her lifetime, Nadia and Hannah Gardner fought tirelessly for the drug to be made available, however their petition was not accepted.  

Nadia announced the death of her friend on Sunday, after she passed away aged 39 following a stage four incurable breast cancer diagnosis, which spread to her liver.

Their campaign to revoke the medication ban included making a bold statement outside of parliament in July 2024.

Nadia joined a group of 31 women, all of whom have been affected by the disease, to campaign for the ‘game-changing’ drug.

31 represented the number of lives that are lost to metastatic breast cancer each day in the UK.

The women stripped off in a desperate bid ‘to be seen’ and heard by the Labour government, with their chests painted by artist Sophie Tea.

The group were decorated with a range of powerful messages including ‘We could be your sister’, ‘Our lives count’, ‘Help us to live’ and asking ‘Now do you see us?’. 

The drug, Enhertu is available in Scotland and 14 other countries, but not currently in England and Wales. 

Enhertu costs about £8000 per session and is currently only available privately in England.

Nadia, patients, campaigners and charities had been lobbying decision makers for months to approve the life-prolonging treatment for women with a subtype of incurable breast cancer called HER2-LOW but were met by what they call a ‘deafening silence’.

She said at the time: ‘We are here to be heard. If this is what it takes to turn heads back in our direction and put Enhertu back on the agenda, so be it. We have been ignored for too long.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: ‘It will be the mission of this government to build an NHS fit for the future.

‘An important part of this means patients having access to the most new and innovative medicines that both work and are cost effective for our healthcare system.

‘We are currently waiting for NICE to publish its final guidance on Enhertu. NICE and NHS England stand ready to consider any new improved commercial offer from the suppliers.’

A UK spokesperson for global pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo said: ’17 other European countries, including Scotland and most recently Romania, have already delivered routine funding for patient access to trastuzumab deruxtecan for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer patients.

‘Here in England and Wales, the NICE severity modifier stands in the way of patient access by devaluing the severity of devastating diseases like metastatic breast cancer. This system requires urgent change so that these patients have fair access to trastuzumab deruxtecan and other important cancer medicines in the future.’

Months earlier, Nadia broke down in tears as she told MailOnline about her ‘powerhouse’ pal Hannah.

They were left ‘reeling’ after learning the pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England.

Nadia condemned the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence who said that the cost the NHS was being asked to pay for trastuzumab deruxtecan – known as Enhertu – was ‘too high’. 

The TV personality revealed that Enhertu had the potential of giving Hannah, who has a five-year-old daughter, another six months of life.

In an exclusive interview, Nadia told the Daily Mail: ‘We’ve got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she’s also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal.’ 

Nadia gushed: ‘She’s a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we’ve got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.

‘We’re a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there’s four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we’re holding you…’

Fighting back tears, Nadia continued: ‘She’s the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she’s been on such a wheel, she’s been told that she’s had cancer four times and she never falters.

‘I’ve seen her be given so much bad news just in the the years that I’ve known her and she breaks for like a minute. It’s really strange to watch and it might sound like a weird thing but it’s always a privilege to watch, she’s so focused and I love watching her with the oncologists who are just all fantastic and the way that she advocates and talks about the drug.’

Hannah, a former clinical trial manage, issued a devastating health update days before, explaining that the tumours in her liver are growing.

She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 after discovering a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing treatment, the disease has returned twice, in 2017 and again 2020.

In June 2022, Hannah received the heartbreaking news that she has stage four incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver.

Hannah explained on Instagram: ‘I’ve been hit with probably the worst news I’ve had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I’m scared, I can’t lie.’

Hannah waited months to learn whether she would be eligible for groundbreaking new treatment Enhertu, and said she was ‘crushed’ to learn it had been blocked by the NHS. 

Enhertu is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.

Chemotherapy is usually offered as a treatment, but if the targeted therapy had been made available, around 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible.

Trials of the drug found it boosted the time the cancer was held at bay from seven months to over two years – results that were called ‘mind-blowing’ by experts. 

Nadia says every minute counts with the terminal disease, and the drug would give Hannah precious time to make more happy memories with daughter Lilah.

She explained: ‘We want that drug available to them. It’s a great drug that targets the tumour and doesn’t blast the whole body, you know, we need it.

‘I think anybody that you speak to in the secondary breast cancer community will say they feel that they are pushed to one side.

‘It is like a punch in the stomach, we are absolutely reeling.’

Speaking on how the drug could give Hannah six more months of life, Nadia said: ‘For Hannah, she wants to hear her child say just even one word with her being autistic, so that she knows she’s gonna be all right.’

While the NHS in England blocked use of the drug, it has been allowed in Scotland, and after Nadia shared Hannah’s story on social media, she was inundated with offers from well-wishers offering their address for her friend to register. 

An NHS spokesperson said at the time: ‘NHS England expected drug companies AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo to offer this treatment at a price that would enable Nice to recommend its use for patients with secondary breast cancer.

‘We are deeply disappointed that AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have not been willing to price this treatment to enable approval, therefore denying NHS patients the opportunity to access this latest advance in care.’

AstraZeneca UK’s President says: ‘This is a devastating decision and one which is out of step with other countries including Scotland. Sadly, the rigid application of a flawed methodology has here been prioritised ahead of doing what’s right for breast cancer patients in England and Wales.

‘This sits extremely uncomfortably and we call on NICE to reverse this decision and expedite an urgent review of their disease severity modifier, in this case it clearly isn’t working in the interests of patients.’

Announcing the news of her friend’s death, Nadia posted a picture of Hannah wearing a sparkly dress sitting on a swing, alongside the caption: ‘Rest in peace now darling’.

The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as ‘shocked and distraught’. 

She wrote: ‘Our beautiful Hannah… Although we knew it was coming we are all so deeply shocked and distraught. No need to be brave anymore darling you can now rest in peace, and all the love you created.

‘You were and will forever be deeply loved… To all the staff at The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, the kindness and care you showed not only to Hannah, but also to her friends and family was extraordinary. Thank you. #fabfourfoever.’ 

Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: ‘Just so so heartbreaking – a beautiful woman – a beautiful friend – a beautiful mother – just can’t believe it’.

Others wrote: ‘Beautiful Han. She loved you all so much Nadia. What a woman. She will be so missed’; ‘So so sorry to hear this news’; ‘So sorry for your loss.. it’s too sad but so glad she’s not in pain. Love and hugs’.