Stage 4 Needs More. Recently i've seen lots of reference to the percentage of funding secondary breast cancer receives but, I've been wondering, is this imbalance the root of the problem or do we need to dig a little deeper? A large charity I contacted told me they spend 30% of their research investment on secondary breast cancer...and that the percentage of secondary breast cancer projects they fund within the UK is higher than this still. I've been trying to work out what this tells us but am only left with more questions (which I genuinely don't know the answers to) and thoughts to add to my list. Here is where I'm at: 1. What is the ratio of primary to secondary breast cancer research questions? Are less secondary research questions being asked? 2. Are drug companies developing secondary breast cancer drugs and therapies at the same rate as primary breast cancer treatments? 3. Why do NICE nearly always reject emerging breast cancer treatments in the first instance? 4. Is the fight/back and forth with NICE following these technology appraisals just a chess game that all parties expect and play? Or will there ever come a time when drug companies won't pursue developing a new treatment because the price point they'd expect to make the (costly) process worthwhile isn't achievable? 5. But not to not hold drug companies accountable, how did we ever get to a place where cancer is an industry and one that is INCREDIBLY lucrative?! How much does empathy factor in when it comes to costing and negotiating deals? 6. Where is the government at? We are living in a cancer crisis and their response to covid tell us THEY ARE able to take action. Where is this action? The call to pharma and tech companies to help end this ongoing disaster? 7. Talk of 'research investment' implies a separate budget for breast cancer (primary) awareness and prevention work which I'm not mad about. 8. We need more unity and more voices across the board. We are one community 💜 My line of thinking might well be off with some of this or you may have had similar thoughts and/or additional questions. I'd love to hear any of it... #stage4needsmore #breastcancer #actionnow