A year after rejoicing at the arrival of free Herceptin, a cancer victim is forced to consider selling her house to pay for new medication after the cancer reappeared.

"I have to pay €70,000 in a year because the government does not fund this new drug. I don't know how I will manage to find that money," the mother-of-one, who did not want to be named, said.

Last December, the same woman had dubbed the arrival of the first batch of government-funded Herceptin as "a Christmas present". But this year, she is facing a different reality after being prescribed stronger medication. Gone is the hope of some financial respite for medications, which she needs to recover.

The problem, according to Action For Breast Cancer co-founder Helen Muscat, is that it is government policy not to pay for most of the drugs cancer patients need when they go through a relapse.

In fact, the issue revolves around the fact that there is a capped budget for such drugs. When asked to comment about this woman's case, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Joseph Cassar said: "We are prioritising according to the budget. Everyone is at heart."

But Ms Muscat insisted: "We still have a long way to go".

When contacted, Oncology Department chairman Stephen Brincat said attempts were made to include cancer patients in research projects to allow them to avail of free drugs.

The 44-year-old patient has already had to postpone the start of her treatment, partly because she was unable to come up with the money and also because of the need for more tests.

"I have met many people who are suffering because they found themselves in the same situation, needing medicines that are very expensive. I try not to stay in the waiting room at the hospital because these stories it breaks my heart. I met a man who had to sell his house and moved to a rented three-roomed apartment in order to be able to pay for his cancer treatment," she said.

"I will fight with my last ounce of strength but the government needs to look at paying for these very expensive drugs rather than spend money on opening squares," she said, referring to the newly-refurbished St George's Square, in Valletta, which cost €85,000 to inaugurate.

"Medicines can save lives. What is essential, people's lives or a lot of superfluous projects" the patient, who has a young child, asked.

She discovered that the cancer had resurfaced in September when she went to a private hospital for a PET (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) scan, for which she had to fork out €1,700.

"At least the cancer was caught early," she said.

But she worries for other patients who might not afford the money needed for the scan. The government has already promised to install a PET scan, which shows how tissues are functioning, making it an important tool in cancer management.

The woman has already had to mortgage her house to get the money needed for the year-long course of Herceptin, which she started at the end of 2007 and cost her about €42,000. In fact, when the government-funded batch arrived she was at the end of her treatment and only needed one final dose.

Each vial of the potentially life-saving drug costs €535 and some women will need several every three weeks. The patient had received some help from the Malta Community Chest Fund but this did not cover the full amount and she only received the money in return for receipts.

"There is a limit as to what the MCCF can do to help," she admitted.

Despite the excitement surrounding the arrival of government-funded Herceptin, last May The Sunday Times had revealed that a number of women with advanced breast cancer were not being given the drug for free because the protocol determines that it is for patients with early breast cancer following surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The Action For Breast Cancer had said it was not happy with the situation.

Ms Muscat said several drugs, which have been used in other countries for many years, were still not available for free in Malta. "We are still way behind and not in line with other European countries," she said.

Ms Muscat, who is also a member on the board of the Malta Health Network, said the problem did not solely lie with cancer medicines and some 300 drugs needed government funding across the board in Malta.