METUPUK founder Jo Taylor, and member Madeleine Meynell featured in this piece in Total Health:
Jo, along with other patient advocates, have come together to form METUPUK the only patient advocacy group for secondary breast cancer in the UK.
‘METUPUK believes secondary breast cancer research is underfunded, and that better access to drugs, trials and treatments could keep women living longer with the disease.
We are here to push and promote issues concerned with secondary breast cancer,’ explains Jo. ‘Our main concern is the fact that those diagnosed have a 2-3 year median life expectancy. An unacceptable outcome. We believe we can turn this into a chronic disease.’
One major area for METUPUK’s advocacy is the discrepancy between NHS and private healthcare, as well as the NHS’s poor record on advanced breast cancer, compared to other countries.
Madeleine Meynell, a METUPUK member explains, ‘Although NHS and private treatment for primary breast cancer offers the same treatments, there is a stark difference when it comes to secondary breast cancer.’ She adds, ‘Private treatment benefits from not having to comply with NICE guidance, which can open up new options.’
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