A BOWEL cancer victim has this week condemned a decision to withhold life-extending drugs.

Mum-of-one Rachel Smith is in remission after she was diagnosed with the second biggest cancer killer in the UK almost two years ago.

The cancer was so advanced that three weeks after giving birth to her daughter Amy she had surgery to remove the tumour, which had spread to her lymph nodes.

It was during the pregnancy that Rachel, of Penketh, first became ill and complained to doctors who put her symptoms down to constipation. They now believe she may have had the tumour for up to two years.

This week, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the health service's rationing body, ruled that two drugs, Avastin and Erbitux, which are used in advanced stages to prolong lives, could not be prescribed because they do not offer value for money, since they only extend life and do not cure the cancer.

But Rachel says the problem comes down to the way bowel cancer is viewed, both by the medical profession and by the population.

She said: "This decision is really tragic. Fundamentally it comes down to money once again and a lack of funding and resources.

"Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer but it doesn't have the status or profile of breast cancer because it's a taboo. It isn't as sexy as breast cancer so it gets sidelined and hushed up - no one wants to talk about it."

Because there was no history of cancer in Rachel's family, 19-month-old Amy will have to be tested once she reaches 18 as she may have inherited the condition.

Rachel adds: "More and more younger people are being affected by bowel cancer but people tend to think of it as something that only affects older people.

"When you are talking about a drug that prolongs life you're not just talking about the elderly but about young people with babies and young families. Part of the reason that it is such a big killer is that most people are diagnosed very late like I was because their symptoms are put down to something else like constipation or IBS - if cancer was ruled out first people would have a fighting chance.

"There are hardly any support groups for people with bowel cancer and I know this from experience. The support that was available to me was criminal."

To find out more log on to beatingbowelcancer.org