"I feel like I've won the lottery," said Ann Marie Rogers, 54, who had called the initial decision by Swindon Primary Care Trust (PCT) not to give her the costly medication "a death sentence."

The decision at London's Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court ruling that said the PCT in Wiltshire did not have to pay for the drug, made by Switzerland's Roche and which costs about US$35,000 (20,000 pounds) a year.

Judge Anthony Clarke said in yesterday's verdict that the PCT's policy "was irrational and therefore unlawful."

"I could not have asked for a better verdict," Rogers said.

New Generation of Therapies

"I did this for all women battling this dreadful disease. I believe everyone prescribed this treatment by their doctor should be given the same healthcare wherever they live.

"I can now look towards the future and have more confidence that I will win this battle against breast cancer."

Herceptin is one of a new generation of targeted therapies which attack only cancer cells and are tolerated much better than traditional chemotherapy.

The drug is only licensed for use in women with advanced breast cancer. However, doctors can use their discretion to prescribe it in other cases.

Research has shown Herceptin can help patients in the early stages of breast cancer but many health authorities say they will only fund treatment in exceptional cases.

Ruling Won't 'Open Floodgates'

Rogers' lawyers said their client met all the necessary criteria for a patient to receive the drug and that her doctor had said she should be given it as it represented her best chance of survival.

Yesterday's ruling was limited to Rogers' case and will not "open the floodgates" to all those suffering from breast cancer but only those who satisfied the clinical criteria for the drug, her lawyer Yogi Amin added.

Swindon PCT said it would now re-examine its policy on providing Herceptin.

"The order of the court is for us to revisit our policies and re-make our decision in light of the revisited policies," the PCT's Chief Executive Jan Stubbings told reporters.

"We haven't been ordered to fund Herceptin for anybody."

But she said that the verdict would be significant for the government-funded National Health Service.

British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the case showed the importance of getting faster decisions from Britain's drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which assesses new drugs.