Cancer victim Ann Marie Rogers, who won a landmark legal victory today over the funding of the drug Herceptin, said the "humanitarian" ruling had given her back her future.
The delighted mother-of-three declared in an emotional statement outside London's Law Courts: "I feel like I've taken on the world and beaten it, not just for me but for everyone else."
Mrs Rogers (54) went to court to fight a refusal by Swindon Primary Care Trust (PCT) to provide her with Herceptin to treat her breast cancer - a stand she likened to a "death sentence".
Her battle paid off today when three Court of Appeal judges overturned an earlier decision by a High Court judge that Swindon's policy of only paying out for "exceptional cases" was not irrational and unlawful.
In a unanimous judgment the Master of the Rolls Sir Anthony Clarke, Lord Justice Brooke and Lord Justice Buxton announced that "the Primary Care Trust's policy with respect to Herceptin was irrational and so unlawful" and ordered the quashing of its decision in Mrs Rogers's case.
Grandmother-of-two Mrs Rogers, a former restaurant manager of Haydon Wick, Swindon, will now continue to receive Herceptin as long as her oncologist prescribes it.
Outside court, Mrs Rogers wept and hugged well-wishers, saying: "I couldn't have asked for a better verdict, 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.
"I am extremely grateful to the judges in the Court of Appeal for this humanitarian judgment."
After the PCT's decision in her case, Mrs Rogers borrowed £5,000 for treatment with the drug - said to halve the chances of a recurrence of her HER-2 form of breast cancer - but said she could not afford to pay for further courses.
Agencies