A terminally ill mother has spoken of her anguish after being told cost means she will not get treatment she believes would prolong her life.

Lesley Graham's breast cancer has spread throughout her body and although she is getting access to one course of a drug called Kadcyla, she believes further doses would improve her prognosis.

In April, Ms Graham from Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, was told she had four months to live after cancer spread from her breast to her liver and brain.

She believes that a course of the drug Kadcyla may prolong her life but at £90,000 was told that the treatment was too costly.

She told STV News: "Last year, in March, I had a spot on my breast, just a little pimple but I couldn't burst it and it just seemed to get bigger and bigger.

"My mum's a nurse and she came and I showed my mum it and she thought it might be an abscess so I went to the doctor and was given antibiotics and the doctor said he would refer me for a check up in the hospital.

"So the antibiotics worked, the spot went away and we thought that was it. And I had actually contemplated just not wasting anybody's time because the spot had gone away and I felt fine.

"But I went through with the appointment and when we got there they sent me for a mammogram and it showed that it was a breast tumour so I had to have biopsies and all sorts of things."

She then started chemotherapy later that month before deciding to get a mastectomy. Then in September, her result improved massively and she revealed she left the hospital feeling like she had "won the lottery".

Ms Graham said: "Later on in the March I started chemotherapy and the plan was we were going to do chemotherapy and then some form of surgery but we hadn't quite decided what was the best route.

"My mind was quite made up that I wanted a mastectomy right away - just for my own peace of mind.

"That's what we done and in September of last year after the chemotherapy, the surgery and I had some radiotherapy, the results were really good.

"I left the hospital feeling like I had won the lottery. Then in March this year I had a routine blood test and it showed that my liver enzymes were a bit raised.

"So we attended an appointment and agreed to have a scan and put everybody's mind at rest. Sadly for me and my family and my friends the scan showed that I had cancer in my liver and in my ribs.

"I had another scan after that which showed it's in my brain. I had radiotherapy to the brain three or four weeks ago and I feel fine, everything seems to be fine. I actually feel quite upbeat and healthy."

Ms Graham was told by her oncologist that she had four to six months to live and he recommended that she explore other options. That is when the drug Kadcyla was mention.

She was initially refused the drug but after appealing the decision will now receive three trial doses, despite a full course consisting of 14. Ms Graham branded the situation "totally and utterly unjustified".

She went on: "If it's a course of 14, how do you know you not know you need ten before it does something to you.

"If it works differently for everyone and there are no guarantees for anyone, then how do you know? You might get three and respond well, I might get three and not.

"This drug has got a really good write up. I know of a lady and she had got in touch with me and she was given the drug on a trial and she had cancer, I believe, in various places like myself.

"At this moment in time she's got no evidence of disease, or no detectable evidence of disease, or whatever they call it. She was told similar news to me in 2011 and she's still here

"I have to take that as a good omen. Some people have astounding results with this drug so I'm ever hopeful and hope that it does what it needs to do for me."