The 56-year-old nurse hopes the $14,000 investment in the drug Avastin will give her time to bond with two-year-old Andrew, the youngest of her three grandchildren.

The drug, which is used to treat colon and lung cancer, is not available to breast cancer patients on the Federal Government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and costs $2200 per treatment.

Ms Fleischfresser was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2005. It spread to her lung in April 2007.

"They technically don't call it lung cancer," she said from her home in Caboolture, north of Brisbane. "They call it a metastatic breast cancer in the lung. They have to treat it as a breast cancer."

Clinical trials have shown that Avastin, when taken during chemotherapy, can prolong the lives of women with advanced breast cancer.

The drug works by preventing blood reaching tumours, starving the sick cells of food.

"While your chemo is knocking off fresh cancer cells you are also trying to stop … the blood supply to it. So it is a double whammy for the cancer."

Without the treatment, Mrs Fleischfresser may not live through 2009. With it, she may have two to three years. She wants 10 more.

"The doctor told me that a large number of breast cancer sufferers - once the cancer metastasises - are dead within two years," she said.

"And that would put me out of the game by April Fool's Day next year. But I … have a 10-year plan that I intend to extend.

"My youngest grandchild, Andrew, does not know me as 'Nanna' right now. He [wouldn't] remember me if I was to die in 12 months' time … I just think 56 is a bit too young to die."

Her doctor, oncologist Paul Mainwaring, the director of adult oncology at Brisbane's Mater Hospital, says she is not being realistic.

"I'm sure he thinks it will be a lot shorter. But if I can get two years from now I will be very happy."

Cancer Voices Queensland, an independent patient advocacy group, is waiting for the results of further clinical trials before it takes an official position on the use of Avastin to treat breast cancer.

Spokeswoman Leonie Young, who has beaten breast cancer, knew of a young woman who died despite her family's efforts to raise $70,000 to pay for Avastin for 12 months.

"It is a terrible thing that people have to mortgage their houses and go on fund-raising campaigns to raise the money," she said.

Dr Mainwaring supports the push to have Avastin added to the PBS for breast cancer patients. "Avastin has been shown to improve survival in multiple type of cancers," he said.

He said Australia had played its role in international and local clinical studies of Avastin and the pressure was now on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

"The question is: 'What [price] is society prepared to pay for these drugs?"'