Eight breast cancer patients, including lesbian campaigner Chris Walsh, have lost their High Court case to force Pharmac to fund year-long treatment of the drug herceptin. The High Court has ruled in favour of Pharmac after patients challenged the funding decision, reports TVNZ. Walsh, who told her personal story of battling breast cancer on TV2's LGBT programme The Outlook earlier this year, is paying $90,000 for her own full-year treatment of the drug. One in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. International research suggests that lesbian women are more at risk of breast cancer, due to factors such as lower pregnancy rate and fear of homophobic medical environments preventing lesbians from seeking regular mammograms. Justice Alan MacKenzie has ruled he has no power to direct either Pharmac or DHBs on what to fund. He advised the women to consider seeking eligibility for the nine week course of Herceptin, which Pharmac does fund. Walsh has vowed to continue the fight for a publicly-funded 12-month course of Herceptin for woman with early-stage breast cancer. Ref: TVNZ, GayNZ.com, The Outlook (m)