It says :
"might help".

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.breast/msg/075c1b72d870494b?hl=en&

http://www.herceptin.com/herceptin/patient/index.jsp
<http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2005/Breast+cancer+patients+to+benefi
t+from+breakthrough+therapy.htm>

<http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/11/17/bc-herceptin-cancer051117.htm
l?print>

CAlculate the costs of the infusions (staff/resources), state of the art
testing, potential costs of heart or hung damage)/management of same while
on (or off) Herceptin, divide by the # of patients it *will* help, then add
the cost of the medicine per patient and tell us how many lives would be
extended and by how much. (clinical trial results)
vs why someone else's breast cancer won't be helped.

http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Biologicaltherapies/Monoclonalantibodie
s/Trastuzumab

At the moment it seems that only about one in five women (20%) with breast
cancer have tumours that will be sensitive to trastuzumab. Trastuzumab only
works in people who have high levels of the HER2 protein. It appears to have
little effect in those who don't. /quote/

(since it's not routinely tested for in UK, maybe you have to use BC numbers
or American numbers - of people, costs etc).  Since it seems to help such a
small percentage, I think women waving their arms in protest should have to
pay for their testing themselves or at least, copay.

Once you study the issue and summarize the situation, maybe you could
educate the politicians and the public and newspapers in UK about it.

This is a controversial issue and this is not a breast cancer newsgroup.
Take your results and/or conclusions over to the sci.med.diseases.cancer.
If I have time to look for info to add to yours, I will.
J
PS So far, recently, 2 (possibly 3) with congestive heart failure on the
breast cancer newsgroup.
There's a congestive heart group at ACOR - might want to check there how
many were on Herceptin and how many died (if any of them know).