metupuk
Photo of a woman reaching out for a helping hand

Raise awareness of secondary breast cancer

Share the infographics

Many primary patients finish treatment without any idea of the signs or symptoms of secondary breast cancer. Would you be willing to write to your local oncology unit and ask them if they share the red flag symptoms below? Greater Manchester will be soon including them in their patient end of summary reports, your unit could join them in educating patients. After all 1 in 3 primary patients sadly go on to develop SBC.

Share what we do

You can share our website or specific content, like our METUPUK Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and follow us on Instagram.

Research apps

Dream Lab

This Vodafone app allows you to #SleepLikeAHero. As you sleep your phone does calculations on behalf of cancer researchers around the world (including in the UK). This speeds up vital research for these amazing scientists.
The Vodafone Dream Lab app is free to download and can run over WiFi or phone networks. For Vodafone customers the data is free. When you charge your smartphone it runs the app.

Help through your work

Does your work support a charity of the year? You could nominate a charity focused on secondary breast cancer. For example Make 2nds Count or Secondary 1st, or donate items to Stage4DeservesMore.

Earn while you shop

As you shop you can raise money for SBC research. The best part is that it costs you nothing!

Amazon Smile

Amazon Smile allows you to pick a charity to donate to while buying tricks and treats from Amazon. It works exactly like regular Amazon, but a small percentage of your purchase price goes to your nominated charity – every time you shop!
You can support:
  • Make 2nds Count
  • Second Hope
  • Secondary 1st

See smile.amazon.co.uk for more details.

Easyfundraising.org.uk

Another site that supports breast cancer research charities like Against Breast Cancer.

Bags for Life

Many supermarkets donate the proceeds from selling plastic bags to charity. Try encouraging them to support us or a secondary breast cancer charity or local hospice which helps to provide end of life care for secondary breast cancer patients.

Write to your MP

You can write to your MP and ask them to push for policy change to help people living with secondary breast cancer. See our aims and objectives to give you ideas.  The linked page has some invaluable guidance on how to contact your MP.
METUPUK has provided a template for a letter that we would love you to use and send to your MP.

Breast Cancer Now campaign

Breast Cancer Now is pushing MPs to support a national audit of secondary breast cancer patients and how they are cared for.  You can contact your MP via this link (and share amongst friends and family to encourage them to do the same).

Petitions

There are always lot of cancer petitions floating around that you could sign. Before setting up a new petition, always check to see if there is an existing one you could support instead.
A petition that could extend the lives of roughly 20 percent of SBC patients is here.
The Herceptin petition which affects HER2+ SBC patients is here
Remember the Parliamentary Petitions site offer the opportunity for guaranteed Government responses or even a debate if they get enough signatures. It’s a great way to make a difference. There are currently several cancer related petitions on the site.

Fundraising

There are countless events you could do to support secondary breast cancer patients. Run a marathon, bake a cake or dance the night away.

Volunteer