NURSE Alyson Cooper says she may have less than two years to live because NHS chiefs refuse to prescribe her a cancer wonder drug.

The Bolton mum is locked in a battle with health authority bosses who say she can only have the treatment she wants to beat her breast cancer if she pays £21,000.

The case mirrors this week's landmark fight of Somerset nurse, Barbara Clarke, who successfully won the right to be treated with the drug, called Herceptin. Mrs Cooper, from Bradshaw, who has been a nurse for 25 years, has vowed to continue her fight.

She said today: "I have invested my whole life in the NHS. Now I really need them to give something back." Mum-of-two Mrs Cooper, aged 45, is currently undergoing a gruelling course of chemotherapy because the breast cancer she beat 13 years ago has returned.

Herceptin could extend her life by more than 10 years - but hospital chiefs will only prescribe the drug to prolong the life of a sufferer once their condition is terminal.

Mrs Cooper, a nurse of 25 years, said: 'I don't want it then, just to give me another year - I want it now, to give me another 10 years or more.

'It is so hard to hear someone say your chances are very poor. I may have two years if I am lucky. I know from years of experience as a nurse that my situation isn't good."

Clinical trials have shown Herceptin can half the chances of cancers such as Mrs Cooper's returning, but it has not yet been licensed for primary breast cancer use in the UK.

Spurred on by the success of her Somerset colleague, she has said she will sell her home to fund the treatment if her appeal is quashed.

Mrs Cooper, a divorcee of five years, has two daughters. Maria, aged 25, is a nurse at Hope Hospital while 19-year-old Michelle is studying art and design at Leeds University.

She said: 'I want to live. I want to see my daughters marry and grandchildren grow up."

Mrs Cooper's cancer returned in July. When her current course of chemotherapy finishes in February, she will undergo a double mastectomy.

Now she is calling on the Government to take steps to ensure Herceptin is available to all women in her position.

She said: 'This is the best drug they have ever come up with and it needs to be rushed through Parliament with an 'urgent' sticker on it. You don't have time with this disease."

Her consultant at Christie Hospital, Dr Richard Welch agrees Mrs Cooper could benefit from being prescribed Herceptin. But he does not have the power to force through a prescription.

'It is exceedingly frustrating,' he said, adding that this country is lagging behind others in getting the drug made available to those that need it.

'It does put you in a bit of a moral dilemma whether to mention this drug or not to patients."

Mrs Cooper's MP, David Crausby is raising her case with Bolton Primary Care Trust and government Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt.

He said current underfunding of health provision in Bolton must be addressed more quickly if people like Mrs Cooper are to be helped.

'These are financial arguments which turn into life and death issues,' he added.

Bolton Primary Care Trust will review Mrs Cooper's case through their commissioning appeals process.

Chief executive Kevin Snee said: 'Staff and managers do sympathise with people facing the distress of breast cancer.

'However, when new drugs and treatments are introduced we follow nationally agreed procedures to ensure they are properly assessed for effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and the risk of significant side-effects.

'Herceptin is currently not licensed or approved for use in most breast cancer cases and it is not routinely available on the NHS. Bolton is no exception to this.'