TALK TO ME I’ve been living with breast cancer for almost 15 years, and I’ve been advocating for myself and others about the inequalities and disparities in oncology care for as long as. I have nothing against painting a seemingly rosy picture of living with stage 4. How else do we prove to the world that we can live and that we’re worth saving? As long as we feel reasonably well, have a good quality of life and of course, are stable, we can stay relatively upbeat. In these circumstances the fear factor is low. However, this is where I play devil’s advocate. How do you feel when all of a sudden, things ain’t looking so tidy? When you’re scarily and rapidly exhausting treatment options, when time is crucial and the word ‘hope’ seems empty? When you’re dog tired from the constant chasing of all things cancer related? You’re reeling and in pain, but it feels like you’re being ignored? When doors close and you’re faced with indifference and apathy? It’s consuming and demoralising hitting one brick wall after another. Yes, we can sign petitions, support campaigns, fundraise, and even write to our MPs. We can also use our own INDIVIDUAL voices. We ALL NEED to be our own patient advocate, and start challenging the system whenever we feel that something isn’t right. Be confident. Use your initiative. Don’t let your oncology team fail you. Contact PALS. Escalate any dissatisfaction as high as you need to. At the moment, there are vast differences in the way that cancer is both diagnosed and treated across the UK, meaning that men and women are unable to access the same standards of care and treatments. This could cause varying survival rates, and why we absolutely need to keep stage 4 cancer in particular at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Early diagnosis and treatment of any stage cancer, with timely access to the highest standard of care and continued monitoring should be the same across the board. Life is for all of us. If you want it, voice it. • • #stage4cancer #youmebigc #secondarybreastcancer #letstalk #metastaticbreastcancer #mbc #sbc #busylivingwithmets #beatthemedian #irefusetobeastatistic #metupuk #beproactive #selfadvocacy