A Glasgow pensioner has welcomed a decision to approve a lung cancer drug which she says has "transformed" her quality of life.

Patients in Scotland will be the first in the UK to access a treatment, which has been shown to double survival rates.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) as a treatment for advanced lung cancer on the NHS, in the first major drug breakthrough for the disease for 20 years.

Cancer doctors described the decision as a "major turning point" in the treatment of lung cancer in Scotland, where incidence rates are amongst the highest in the world.

Read more: Scots first in UK to access groundbreaking lung cancer drug

In a trial involving 272 patients, including some at Glasgow's Beatson Centre, 42 per cent of patients were still alive at one year compared to 24 per cent of those treated with another drug, docetaxel.

On July 30, Catherine Vernal, 79, will be there to see her granddaughter get married, something

that she says would not have been possible on her previous treatment.

The grandmother, who lives in Springboig, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer two years ago.

Surgery was not an option and she has been treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and another drug which she says left her with barely enough energy to leave the house.

She signed up for a trial of Novulumab at Glasgow’s Beatson two months ago. The results, she says, have been better than she could have hoped for.

She said: “I’ve been on it for a few months and it’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Before that, I was on another drug and I felt as if it was killing me.

“I lost three stones in eight months.

“This is doing me great. I can get out, I couldn’t get out before. I can do the garden. My husband is in a wheelchair and I can take him out. I’ve got my energy back.

Read more: Scots first in UK to access groundbreaking lung cancer drug

“My doctor is very pleased. She says I look better. She can’t get over it.

“I’m still a bit short of breath but I’ve got my life back.

“I’ve not had side effects at all.

“When I started taking it, I hoped it would do me some good because my granddaughter is getting married on July 30.

“Everyone is different, it might not suit everyone but I would say, try it. It might work really well for you.”

Nivolumab works by harnessing the ability of the immune system to fight advanced lung cancer as well as advanced forms of skin and kidney cancer.

In 2014, around 5,300 people were diagnosed with all types of lung cancer in Scotland, with a majority of these patients diagnosed at an advanced stage.

Around 4,100 people died from the disease, which is almost equivalent to the amount of deaths from colorectal, breast, prostate and oesophageal cancers combined.

Read more: Scots first in UK to access groundbreaking lung cancer drug

Only 10% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Scotland will survive five years or more.

Dr Marianne Nicolson, Consultant Medical Oncologist from the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said: "This positive decision marks a major turning point for lung cancer care in Scotland.

"Until today, there have been few treatments for this type of lung cancer that have the potential to extend survival in patients. ”

“The SMC recommendation to make nivolumab available to Scottish NHS patients has opened the door to an immunotherapy that offers real hope to patients and their families.”