METASTATIC BREAST CANCER AWARENESS DAY Today, 13 October, marks the only day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month that is dedicated to secondary/incurable breast cancer. The only day in the whole month dedicated to the only breast cancer that kills. 31 women die every day of secondary breast cancer but most people have never heard of it. Often we hear of women passing from breast cancer. Rarely is it reported as secondary breast cancer. People do not die from primary breast cancer. They die when the breast cancer cells metastasize (move to other parts of the body). More education is needed on secondary breast cancer, the signs and symptoms and what is needed to help treat this disease so that we can live for longer. There are no up to date statistics on how many people are living with secondary breast cancer. No data on what treatment they are on and what their quality of life is like. Breast cancer is still portrayed as a disease in women over 50. Men and women are being diagnosed much younger than this. People under 40 are being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer and are also heavily underrepresented. What secondary breast cancer looks like has changed but public perception has not, because this disease is not given the attention it deserves. We know that there are many women living with secondary breast cancer and living well because of life saving drugs but eventually these drugs stop working and more research is needed to help more secondary breast cancer patients live for longer. We also know of women who have been let down because secondary breast cancer is disproportionately under funded. Secondary breast cancer patients do not have access to certain drugs on the NHS, are told some treatment options “aren’t worth it”, do not get full body scans to monitor potential spread and do not get mental health support to deal with the trauma of a life limiting illness. Just because we are not curable does not mean that we can’t live for longer with this disease if we are given the appropriate standard of care and attention that we deserve. We will be here shouting with our fellow secondaries until we are heard. All Our Love Secondary Sisters 💛