The second woman to take her fight for the breast cancer drug Herceptin to the high court has been told she must wait for the outcome of Ann Marie Rogers' appeal at the end of the month.

Solicitors for Elisabeth Cooke, 59, a mother of two from Bristol, said that much was resting on the appeal. Both women want access to Herceptin for early stage breast cancer. At the moment it is only licensed for advanced disease.

"Today's adjournment makes the Rogers case all the more important for women who require Herceptin up and down the country," said John Watkins, Ms Cooke's solicitor.