13 October is
Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Secondary breast cancer is when breast cancer cells spread to another part of the body, often the bones, lungs, liver and brain. It can’t be cured, but it can be controlled, sometimes for a number of years.

Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day is part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The day is dedicated to publicising the issues affecting people with secondary breast cancer.

The day also focuses on campaigning for improvements in the treatment and care of the tens of thousands of people living with secondary breast cancer in the UK.

Events

Thank you to everyone who took part in the three events we held to mark Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day 2011. If you’d like to get involved in Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day, please join Breast Cancer Voices.

Book reading, London, Monday 10 October

To mark Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day 2011,
we launched The little things that make a big difference – a selection of the practical tips that people have contributed to this website. This special edition booklet is now available free to anyone affected by, or interested in, secondary breast cancer.

We held a book launch at the 5th View café at Waterstones Piccadilly in central London on Monday 10 October. People affected by secondary breast cancer, friends, family, healthcare professionals and journalists came along to find out more about the people who contributed tips, and hear actress Hettie Baynes read extracts from the book.

Read more about the event on our Newsblog.

Spotlight campaign event, London, Thursday 13 October

On the day itself, Annette Brook MP hosted an event in Parliament for Breast Cancer Care to mark Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day with MPs. People affected by secondary breast cancer came along to:

have their voice heard and help campaign for improved standards of care
find out about the success of 2010′s campaign on secondary breast cancer data collection
help make progress on 2011′s campaign to protect the role of clinical nurse specialists for people with secondary breast cancer.

Read more about the event on our Newsblog.

Spotlight campaign event, Edinburgh, Thursday 13 October

Also on 13 October, we held an event at the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh for people affected by secondary breast cancer, friends, family, MSPs and healthcare professionals to raise awareness of secondary breast cancer in Scotland. The group discussed issues affecting people living with secondary breast cancer, found out about our current activity, shared experiences and heard readings from The little things that make a big difference. This event followed the September launch of our new Edinburgh secondary breast cancer support group, and our Living with Secondary Breast Cancer course, which started in Edinburgh on 29 September.

Read more about the event on our Newsblog.

Please help us build on the success of Secondary Breast Cancer Awareness Day and continue to raise awareness of secondary breast cancer. If you’re living with secondary breast cancer, tell us what little things have made a big difference for you and order a copy of the book. We also want to hear from you on the importance of specialist breast care nurses and the collection of data around secondary breast cancer.